Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders

15/09/2026

UPCOMING WORKSHOP: CAT

This new ANZAED workshop explores how Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) can bring relational thinking into your eating disorder practice complementing FBT, CBT-E and SSCM rather than replacing them.

Led by CAT practitioner Lee Crothers and clinical psychologist Katerina Chin-A-Loy, you'll walk away with practical tools for stronger therapeutic alliance and meaningful change.

🗓️ 21 Oct 2026 | 9:30am–12:30pm AEDT | Online
Members $180 / Non-Members $240

Register now: https://tinyurl.com/CAT28Oct2026

12/09/2026

BIEDAW 2026: Thank You for Joining Us!

As Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness Week draws to a close, thank you for engaging with these conversations alongside us.

This week we've explored how diet and wellness culture shapes the stories we're told about health and our bodies, and why questioning them matters.

If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available:
🔹 ANZAED's connect·ed directory can help you find a credentialed eating disorder professional: www.connected.anzaed.org.au

🔹 Butterfly National Helpline: 1800 33 4673

BIEDAW may be ending, but the work of building a kinder relationship with our bodies continues every day.

11/09/2026

Wellness should be about how we feel,not how we look or how much we can spend. This year’s theme for Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness
Week ( ) is Redefining ‘Wellness’: Stories we’re sold about
health and our bodies.

It asks us to think twice about who really benefits from diet and wellness culture. Narrow appearance standards and wellness routines aren’t health goals – they’re sales tactics.

If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available:
🔹 ANZAED's connect·ed directory can help you find a credentialed eating disorder professional: www.connected.anzaed.org.au
🔹 Butterfly National Helpline: 1800 33 4673

10/09/2026

BIEDAW 2026 | What Does Wellness Really Mean to You?

This weekend, we're taking a moment to reflect.

True wellness isn't about changing your body, it's about living fully in the one you have. It's self-trust. It's movement that brings you joy, not punishment. It's food freedom, not food rules. It's mental wellbeing, not a number on a scale.

As you scroll this weekend, notice the "wellness" content in your feed. Ask yourself: does this build me up, or is it selling me a story?

Find safe and effective, evidence-basedcare from Credentialed Eating Disorder
Clinicians.

Search for help today: www.connected.anzaed.org.au

10/09/2026

Today, members of the Eating Disorders Alliance (EDA) met with Federal Parliamentarians in Canberra to advocate for meaningful action on eating disorder reform, during Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week (7-13 September).

Our message to the Government is clear: Australia already has the roadmap. The National Eating Disorders Strategy 2023-2033 outlines the system of care required and the actions needed to achieve it. Through the One Voice Campaign, we are calling for practical, evidence-informed investments to protect effective services, address gaps in community-based care, strengthen workforce capacity, improve service navigation, and support earlier intervention.

These are achievable reforms that will help ensure more people can access the support they need, when they need it.

We thank the members of Parliamentary Friends of Eating Disorder Awareness, including Co-Chairs and , for their ongoing support and commitment to raising awareness and driving change.

EDA Members:

10/09/2026

Rib contouring surgery raises ethical concerns in Australia

Today's ABC News feature looks at "rib contouring" (or rib remodelling), a surgical procedure that fractures and reshapes the lower ribs to create a narrower waist. It's gained traction through influencer content, including testimonial-style advertising that would breach Australian law if it originated here.

ANZAED's CEO, Jade Gooding, spoke with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) about what this trend means for the eating disorders sector. As she notes, this kind of promotion can normalise an extreme surgical procedure and tap into vulnerabilities that social media is especially good at exploiting, at a time when more than 1 million Australians are already living with an eating disorder (and likely more, given how under-reported these conditions are).

This story is a timely reminder that the line between "body contouring content" and disordered-eating-adjacent pressure is often thinner than it looks, and that advertising standards exist for a reason.

Read the full article here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-10/rib-contouring-snatched-waist-ethical-concerns/107110374?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

If this raises concerns for you, seek support:
*the Butterfly Foundation (1800 334 673)
*Lifeline (13 11 14),
*Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician: www.connected.anzaed.org.au

A cosmetic surgery procedure that reshapes and partially fractures the ribs is being offered in Australia after gaining popularity with influencers overseas. Experts warn social media promotion of the procedure could fuel pressure to achieve increasingly extreme body shapes.

09/09/2026

Wellness or Warning?

Dieting: Over 1 in 3 adolescents in Australia engage in disordered eating behaviours, such as dieting¹ – with wellness culture placing further pressure around ‘clean eating’.

Fitness Apps: 73% of users who used a specific calorie and fitness tracking app, believed that the app had contributed to the development of their eating disorder.

Wearable Technology: Research found that 70% of women who used wearable fitness devices engaged in at least one compensatory behaviour to meet their step goal.

Nutrition Misinformation: Unverified nutrition information from non-experts such as ‘wellness influencers’ and ‘fitness creators’ is widespread on social media ⁴, impacting viewers perceptions around food and may contribute to disordered eating behaviours.

Weight Stigma: Research analysed nutrition-related posts on TikTok, and found that 63% promoted stereotypical attitudes around bodies and weight.

Product Promotion: Among nutrition-related posts on TikTok, researchers found that 90% did not mention the risks or benefits of the advice or products shared.

Learn how to get involved, link in our Bio

09/09/2026

ANZAED is proud to join our fellow members of the Eating Disorders Alliance (EDA) in Canberra today, ahead of tomorrow's meeting with the Parliamentary Friends of Eating Disorder Awareness, alongside Hon. Emma McBride MP.

This Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness Week (BIEDAW), the Alliance is preparing to deliver a united message to Federal Government.

Stay tuned.

Jade Gooding

09/09/2026

TOMORROW: FREE Media Literacy Webinar

As part of BIEDAW, is hosting a free online webinar on media literacy helping you protect your body image and wellbeing in online spaces.

🗓️ Thursday 10 September
🕧 12:30pm – 1:30pm AEST
💻 Free, online

With wellness influencers, fitness apps and "quick fix" trends flooding our feeds, building a stronger media literacy toolkit has never mattered more.

🔗 Register: events.humanitix.com/media-literacy-webinar-biedaw-2026

09/09/2026

It's Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness Week!

This year, we're exploring how 'wellness culture' messages can impact how we feel about our bodies, food and exercise.

What is true wellness? It's not about reaching a certain body size or buying a certain 'wellness' product. For many people, true wellness might be about self-trust, joyful movement, and food freedom. 💙

The wellness and diet industries profits off our insecurities. And we've had enough!

Get involved via the link in our bio.