I was very surprised to hear of John Prescott admitting to suffering from bulimia for years as an adult. Credit to him for speaking out. I was never a fan of him as an MP but he obviously has courage to reveal what he went through.
Prescott said: "I want to say to the millions of people, do take advice, it can help you out of a lot of misery that you suffer in silence."
When it comes to eating disorders the focus always seems to be on women and girls. I realise that statistics show that females are more affected (around 80% of sufferers are young women) but people should understand males can suffer from it too. Men seem to be more embarrassed about admitting to things like this as they believe it is a sign of weakness.
In an article by The Times Online, it was reported that Prescott developed bulimia due to the stress of his job in the early 1990s. Stressful situations are the most common cause of developing eating disorders because people turn to food for comfort, or they formulate certain eating habits which makes them feel in control.
Soaps such as Hollyoaks have tried to raise the issue by including a storyline about a character having the eating disorder. Hannah Ashworth, a teenage character in the series, develops bulimia and then anorexia after a traumatic period in her life. The outcome is that she beats it, but after another dilemma she is in danger of letting the illness take over again.
The advice to anyone who thinks they mave have an eating disorder is to seek professional help, whether you are female OR male.
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