Rethinking Eating Disorders through Anthropology

Eating disorders affect a wide range of people. However, little is known about the experiences and needs of many. This includes those with certain eating disorder diagnoses, such as BED, OSFED and ARFID; people living with an eating disorder and another mental health challenge, such as self-harm; and individuals across a range of socio-demographic groups: older people; males; migrants and those from ethnic minority groups; people with neurodivergence; those affected by socio-economic adversity; and individuals who identify as LGBTQ+.

These knowledge gaps make it difficult to design appropriate and effective prevention strategies and clinical services, meaning that the voices of many people are not being listened to.

Addressing these gaps requires two key things:

• That research priorities be defined, and research undertaken, in collaboration with people with lived experience, especially those underserved by eating disorders research to date.
• That the eating disorders research field include approaches that engage with lived experiences. This also means exploring how socio-cultural contexts, social inequalities, and health inequalities shape experiences of illness, service access and engagements, and ultimately outcomes.

In this project, we are taking an anthropological approach. Our aim is to undertake research that listens to the lived experiences of people with eating disorders, particularly those whose voices have been underrepresented in research. To do so, we will draw together people with lived experiences of eating disorders, academics, clinicians, policymakers and other stakeholders. Through this work, we will co-produce a new equitable and ethical research agenda for eating disorders research. We anticipate this agenda will have relevance in both research and clinical practice beyond the duration of this project.