08 September 2026
We’re proud to support Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week (BIEDAW), running from Monday 7 to Sunday 13 September 2026.
Held annually in the first full week of September, BIEDAW is a national awareness campaign dedicated to improving understanding of body image concerns, disordered eating and eating disorders. It is led by the Eating Disorder Alliance, which brings together the Australia and New Zealand Academy of Eating Disorders (ANZAED), Butterfly Foundation, Eating Disorders Families Australia, Eating Disorders Queensland, Eating Disorders Victoria and the National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC).
Each year the week offers an opportunity to raise awareness, challenge stigma, and share resources with the people best placed to recognise when someone may need support. For primary care, that includes both the clinical resources available to your team and the local pathways you can point patients and families towards.
This year’s theme
The 2026 theme is Redefining ‘Wellness’ – Stories We’re Sold About Health and Our Bodies.
This theme examines how popular narratives about health, appearance and self-improvement can contribute to body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and eating disorders.
BIEDAW 2026 promotes a broader and more inclusive understanding of wellbeing, recognising there is no single way for wellbeing to look or feel, and that it cannot be determined by appearance or body size. Self-trust, food freedom, joyful movement, mental wellbeing and body respect are all offered as possible components of wellness.
The campaign celebrates the strength and resilience of people living with and recovering from eating disorders, while supporting anyone navigating a world saturated with diet and wellness messaging.
Why this matters in primary care
Eating disorders are serious, complex mental health illnesses that can affect people of any age, gender, body size, cultural background or socioeconomic circumstance. They do not have a single cause, and involve a range of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors.
Primary care is often where concerns first surface, and where they can be missed. The wellness framing this year’s theme addresses is a reminder that presentations do not always look the way we expect, and that behaviours framed as healthy may warrant a closer conversation.
Local support and pathways
- Management of eating disorders in primary care: A new EMPHN educational visit available from September 2026, covering screening and assessment tools, sensitive and non-stigmatising language, and the role of families and carers in recovery.
- HealthPathways Melbourne: Localised assessment, management and referral information.
- EMPHN Service Finder: Find and refer to local mental health and social support services.
- Medicare Mental Health: For support when the right pathway is unclear
- Eastern Health specialist programs and teams: Specialist support for adolescents and young people.
- Eating disorders – clinical services | health.vic.gov.au
- Eating disorders clinical services: Victorian statewide services.
Ways to get involved
- ANZAED: Attend the annual ANZAED conference.
- Butterfly Foundation: Share social content and register for an upcoming webinar.
Fact sheets for health professionals
Profession-specific resources
- General Practitioners: A Professional Resource
- Eating Disorders and the Dietitian Decision-Making Tool
- Pregnancy: A Guide for Assessment and Referral
- Pharmacy and Eating Disorders
- Dentistry and Eating Disorders
Support is available
If you or someone you care about is struggling with body image, eating or their relationship with food, support is available and recovery is possible.
- Butterfly Foundation National Helpline: 1800 33 4673, free and confidential support for anyone affected by eating disorders and body image concerns
- Eating Disorders Victoria Hub: 1300 550 236, information, support and referral for Victorians
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
