First Aboriginal Youth Screening Tool for Eating Disorders

WA Country Health Service has developed Australia’s first culturally grounded eating disorder screening tool for Aboriginal young people aged 12 to 24 years. Co-designed with Aboriginal communities and guided by Aboriginal leadership, the Feelings about my body and eating pilot will launch in the Kimberley in the second half of 2026 to support culturally safe early identification and referral pathways.

National Strategy Standards and Actions

Identification

Standard 3: People who may be experiencing an eating disorder are proactively identified during interactions with the health system and in other settings. 

Action 3.3: Researchers and the broader eating disorder sector to further validate existing tools and/ or co-design and validate new screening tools where there are gaps for specific population groups (e.g., eating disorder screening tools for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; children under 12, neurodivergent people, LGBTQIA+ people).

Action 3.5: Health services to screen for eating disorders among people with commonly co-occurring conditions, including in people presenting for bariatric surgery.