The annual awareness campaign is run by Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, who are also a partner of EDGI, along with researchers from King’s College London. EDGI UK is a project to support studies exploring risk factors for eating disorders.
Eating Disorders Awareness Week is a time to reflect on the current state of eating disorder research, policy and treatment, and to pause in remembrance of those who have lost their lives to these serious illnesses.
This year, EDGI and the NIHR BioResource are supporting Beat in their 2022 campaign - #WorthMoreThan2Hours. Traditionally, GPs are the first line of professional support for someone with an eating disorder, however GPs are only provided with two hours’ worth of specific eating disorder training in their entire medical degree. As anyone who has tried to learn something new knows, it takes years of research, knowledge, experience and practice to develop expertise, and we think that providing such training for eating disorders is worth it.
The past year has increased the publicity of the EDGI UK study, with our lead investigator, Professor Gerome Breen, featuring on social media, news channels and various podcasts, to discuss our research and debunk common myths surrounding eating disorders. By conducting research that is crucial for better understanding and treatments of eating disorders, and by using research data to encourage the government to take proactive action for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders, we hope that participants of the EDGI UK study can be proud of being part of a study that is trying to make a difference.
Eating disorders affect one in 50 people in the UK. If you’ve ever experienced an eating disorder, or think you may have one, please consider taking part in EDGI.
If taking part is not for you, please do share the word and let others know about our work! We would like to thank all EDGI participants for their participation and ongoing support of EDGI.
Learn more about our Mental Health BioResource and if you interested in supporting further health research, consider joining the NIHR BioResource.
If you are a researcher, learn more about using the NIHR BioResource to support your work.