Support for eating disorders, which impact as many as one in four women, must be prioritised in the long-overdue EU Mental Health Strategy, MEP Maria Walsh has said.
To mark Eating Disorders Awareness Week, MEP Walsh hosted an event in the European Parliament this week on eating disorders and mental health, and the role the EU can play in preventing and treating illnesses.
MEP Walsh welcomed two Irish speakers to present at the event; Clodagh Dowling, Director of Psychology at St. Patrick’s University Hospital, and Harriet Parsons, Interim CEO at Bodywhys, the Eating Disorder Association of Ireland.
MEP Maria Walsh is a founder of the European Parliament’s first ever Mental Health intergroup.
MEP Maria Walsh said:
“Eating disorders are a plague on the lives of women and girls across Ireland, and the EU has a significant role to play in helping to combat the havoc they wreck on people’s physical and mental wellbeing. As many as one in four women in the EU will be impacted by anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, with the prevalence of these disorders sadly on the rise.
“Due to the nature of eating disorders, reliable statistics are difficult to find. However, it is estimated that over 188,000 people in Ireland experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives.
“During the event I hosted in the European Parliament this week on eating disorders, I was delighted to hear from two Irish experts, Clodagh Dowling and Harriet Parsons. They brought the lived experiences of Irish men and women directly to EU lawmakers, ensuring their voices were represented at the decision-making table.
“I have been working towards the creation of an EU Mental Health Strategy for several years, and today I am calling on the European Commission to ensure specific attention is given to eating disorders within this plan – including action on access to care, education, research, and funding. Caring for individuals with eating disorders must form a key component of the long-overdue Strategy.
“Crucially, supports for mental health and eating disorders must be prioritised in the EU budget. I am calling for dedicated funding for mental health initiatives to be included in the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Without adequate funding, we cannot expect anything to truly change for those suffering the most.
“I will be working with the Commission here in Brussels, as well as Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Minister of State Mary Butler in Ireland, to ensure that individuals struggling with an eating disorder are not silent victims. They have a voice, a voice which is being represented here in the heart of the European Union.”
