Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of (a) eating disorders and (b) anorexia among middle-aged people.

Information on eating disorders and related support services is available on the NHS Choices website at the following link:

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/eating-disorders/pages/introduction.aspx

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline ‘Eating disorders – recognition and treatment in the over 8s’ is currently being updated and is expected to be published in May 2017.

Treatment for eating disorders would initially be provided by a patient’s general practitioner who would refer them to the relevant mental health service. The General Medical Council is responsible for setting the standards and outcomes for education and training and approving training curricular to ensure newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This includes training on treating patients with eating disorders as required.