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Thread: I don't often talk about this, but here we go. When I was about 12/13 I developed bulimia nervosa. My brother, not understanding the nature of these things, tried to get me to eat by literally force feeding me crunchie bars, because he knew I liked them. 1/
Over the years my diet has been.... erratic. Food was never important and I always felt like I was fat. In my mid twenties I weighed 7.5 stone and was 6 foot and yet I still thought I was fat. I didn't eat healthily. For quite some time I lived off filled pasta and pistachios. 2/
The thing is that I was convinced I was fat. I didn't eat because I didn't want to put on weight. I exercised to lose weight I didn't have to lose. In my mind, even though I could see my ribs, I was fat. 3/
Telling people to count calories and exercise more, without addressing the serious underlying societal issues surrounding obesity risks, will cause more people like I was/am to question themselves. It shows a complete disregard for those with eating disorders. 4/
I am 38. Due to the way I am, being autistic, I can still forget to eat. I am also, finally, a healthy weight. In no small part thanks to my wife making sure I do eat sensibly. Yet every time I look in the mirror I still see someone who I think is fat. I can still see my ribs. 5/
Imagine how a mismanaged campaign telling people that all they need to do to manage their weight is count calories and cycle more will affect all those people out there struggling, and all those on the brink. This isn't the way to combat #obesity. 6/
If you want to tackle obesity you need to look at how shifts in work/life balance, eat on the run, be unable to afford to eat healthily etc. Instead of just trying to put all the blame on individuals, any strategy needs to look at the serious underlying societal issues. 7/
Just telling people "sugar makes you fat", "count calories", "cycle more" doesn't actually change the causes, it just results in further negative implications. You need to provide actual solutions so people have time, money and opportunities to improve their wellbeing. 8/
