Eating Disoder Safe principles

Organisation / Service

National Eating Disorders Collaboration

NEDC, in collaboration with La Trobe University, has developed a set of principles that will guide the ways that information about health, food, minds and body are provided to people across a wide range of settings. This is a key eating disorder prevention and harm minimisation initiative, arising from the National Eating Disorders Strategy 2023-33.

What is this about? 

Throughout the development of the National Strategy, NEDC consistently heard from people with lived experience, their families, carers and supports that there is a need to change the way that society broadly speaks about health, food, minds and bodies. Through our consultations and working groups, people told us about the importance of safe messaging being delivered across healthcare, education, community services, sport, workplaces and social media.

Consistent and safe messages in the ways that professionals speak about bodies, teach about nutrition, develop health and related policies and accommodate difference can help to minimise unintended risks and harms in relation to eating disorders, disordered eating and body image distress.

What are the principles and how do they work? 

The Eating Disorder Safe principles are a group of 19 interrelated vision statements to create environments where people’s experiences of health, food, mind and body are safe and supported. These principles aim to minimize the risk and harm associated with eating disorders. 

The principles are grouped into five broad categories: Health, Food, Mind, Body and Harm Minimisation.

National Strategy Standards and Actions

The development and implementation of the Eating Disorder Safe principles aligns with 14 key actions from the National Strategy, spanning Prevention, Identification, Treatment, Psychosocial & Recovery Support, and Workforce.