Eating disorders on the rise in Japan

[yuiyoshida]

The enormous cultural pressure to be thin, including a 2008 law stipulating waist measurements for older people, coupled with a lack of support for mental health issues has left sufferers struggling


By Sarah Marsh and Guardian readers / The Guardian

Akira, 37, lives in the heart of Tokyo, a metropolis that lights up like a fluorescent fairground at night. She shares the city with 13.35 million other residents, but had no one to turn to when she was suffering from anorexia and bulimia.

It is an issue she has faced since she was 11.

“Bulimia is very common, but in Japan people don’t really care about mental health issues,” she said. “People just avoid talking about them.”

She could not open up to friends and family members and so ended up joining Overeaters Anonymous, a program that tackles a variety of food-related issues from starving to using food as a reward.

She also started going to an English-language help center for counseling, but the service is expensive and ineffective.

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