Over 3 million Italians have problems with food, weight and body image, problems that if not properly intercepted can turn into eating disorders.

These disorders kill more than any other mental disorder: between the ages of 12 and 25, anorexia and bulimia are the leading cause of death due to illness.

According to recent data from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the age of onset is drastically decreasing: 30% of sufferers are younger than 14.

Furthermore, only 10% of those affected are able to seek help and on average it takes three years to seek treatment after the first symptoms appear.

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses and are the result of a complex interaction of environmental, biological and social influences.

In such disorders, the body becomes the setting for a very deep-seated discomfort and food is the instrument for displaying that discomfort.

Emotional stress and the state of discomfort linked to the pandemic have unquestionably accelerated the course of these disorders, whose speed of growth and severity had long been a cause for concern.

As with all mental illnesses, the barriers to seeking help are difficult to overcome, but they are even more insurmountable in the case of eating disorders due to the enormous stigma surrounding them.

NEVER GIVE UP Onlus was founded in 2014, with the mission to raise awareness, prevent, intercept risk factors and treat eating and nutrition disorders at an early stage, to prevent them from continuing to be the leading cause of death by disease among 12-25 year olds.

More info on our website