Six Myths and Facts About Eating Disorders

Hover/tap on each box to reveal each Fact.¹

Myth 1

Eating disorders are just a sinful choice. People with eating disorders who do not quickly recover, or who relapse, lack faith.

Fact 1: Eating disorders are not simply a choice.

Eating disorders result from a variety of factors, many of which the person cannot control. And once an eating disorder is established, the disruption to nutrition and its biological effects on the brain, genes and gut can make it extremely difficult for the person to change without help. Recovery is not as simple as encouraging the person to ‘just eat normally’. Simplifying eating disorders to a purely spiritual issue ignores this complexity and can cause harm. It can add to a person’s often already intense sense of guilt and shame, and might lead to neglecting medical and psychological care that God has provided.

‘[When asked to eat a meal] I literally burst into tears and I said, “I can’t.” It’s like handing me rat poison on a plate and asking me to eat it. And that’s what it felt like…It wasn’t a power struggle for food, it was an utter terror of food…an utter terror and a fear and an overwhelm.’

Myth 2

People living in larger bodies are lazy and lack self-control; they aren't looking after the body that God gave them.

Fact 2: God made us with a large range of healthy shapes and sizes. Living in a larger body doesn’t mean that a person isn’t caring for their health.

God made us with a diversity of body shapes and sizes – large bodies can be healthy bodies! It’s important not to judge people based on their size – weight stigma can contribute to people developing eating disorders. A person’s size isn’t just determined by what they eat and how active they are. Many other factors can contribute, like genetics, metabolism and health conditions. This isn't as simple as ‘energy in, energy out'.

Myth 3

Eating disorders result from bad parenting.

Fact 3: Families can be invaluable sources of support for people experiencing eating disorders.

Many factors can contribute to someone developing an eating disorder that are entirely unrelated to their family. It is true that certain types of family dynamics can increase the risk of developing an eating disorder. However, many people who experience an eating disorder come from loving, healthy families. The important role of the family in recovery is increasingly recognised in eating disorder treatment, where the family is often seen as an integral part of the person’s support team.

‘It became my full-time job, because I took six months to a year off work. I did nothing but focus on looking after [my daughter]’

(Parent of a teenager who was experiencing an eating disorder)

Myth 4

Only young, white women have eating disorders - you can tell if someone has an eating disorder by looking at them.

Fact 4: Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes, and affect people from a wide variety of demographic backgrounds.

It is not possible to tell whether someone has an eating disorder simply by looking at them. Most people with eating disorders do not have a low weight. Eating disorders are common in females, but also occur in males and in people who identify as transgender. And while almost a third of eating disorders develop between 14 and 18 years of age, they can affect young children, adults and the elderly.²⁻³ Eating disorders also affect people of any ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Also, when people with an eating disorder who do have a low weight begin to renourish their bodies, they might start to look healthier. However, this can often be a very difficult time for them emotionally. Looking 'recovered' doesn't mean that they have recovered on the inside.

‘Eating disorder[s] statistically are more prevalent in females. A lot of the people…through church…that I was speaking about [who supported me during my eating disorder], like youth leaders and stuff were male. So, they probably wouldn’t have dealt with it as much…They were still helpful…but…obviously they just wouldn’t have had as much experience in it…Because as a dude I seek men out.’

‘When I was in my mid-30s, I had three kids under 10 and I was working two jobs, completely highly functioning. [I] never talked about [my eating disorder] to anyone, no one would ever know what was happening.’

Myth 5

Eating disorders aren't serious. Young people will grow out of them.

Fact 5: Eating disorders disrupt a person's functioning and can result in death.

Eating disorders are very serious conditions and far from healthy. They are not simply a ‘stage’ that a young person will grow out of with time. Eating disorders can start with a desire to exert control over or find comfort in eating. However, as the eating disorder progresses, the person can lose control and find themselves unable to stop their eating behaviours despite serious adverse consequences. These can include effects on the body, mind, social networks and quality of life. Sadly, they too often result in death from medical complications or suicide. Early recognition and treatment are one of the best ways to increase the chances of full recovery.

Myth 6

You can’t recover from an eating disorder.

Fact 6: Full recovery from eating disorders is possible!

Many people have fully recovered from eating disorders even after years of illness, and when others had given up hope for them.⁴ Early recognition and treatment of eating disorders is one of the best ways to increase the chances of recovery. Seek professional help as soon as you realise that there may be a problem - don’t ‘give it time’. And hold onto hope - God is holding you (Deut 33:26-27a).

‘I like me now…What I feel…is that I’m free to make a choice. I don’t think about it. Like, it’s just not a thing for me now. And I guess the biggest thing…is I didn’t know you could live like this. I didn’t realise that other people live like that. Like, I enjoy food, I eat what I want, I eat sugar every day…the longer I’m in it, I have noticed myself making different and better choices…I have just been kissed by mercy and my whole life has been rebuilt.’

  1. Bulik C. Nine truths about eating disorders.United States of America. Academy for Eating Disorders. https://www.aedweb.org/resources/publications/nine-truths. (Accessed 20 March 2026).
  2. Ackard DM, Richter S, Frisch MJ, et al. Eating disorder treatment among women forty and older: Increases in prevalence over time and comparisons to young adult patients. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2013;74(2):175-178.
  3. Solmi M, Radua J, Olivola M, et al. Age at onset of mental disorders worldwide: large-scale meta-analysis of 192 epidemiological studies. Molecular Psychiatry. 2022;27:281-295. doi: 10.1038/s41380-021-01161-7.
  4. Solmi M, Monaco F, Hojlund M, et al. Outcomes in people with eating disorders: a transdiagnostic and disorder-specific systematic review, meta-analysis and multivariable meta-regression analysis. World Psychiatry. 2024;23(1):124-138. doi: 10.1002/wps.21182.