Who really benefits? Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week challenges the stories we’re sold about ‘wellness’
With the global wellness economy forecast to reach $9 trillion by 2028[1], experts are warning that many of the messages sold to us as self-care and self-improvement are really designed to profit from body insecurities, pushing unrealistic body and appearance ideals.
This Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness Week (BIEDAW), Australia’s eating disorder organisations are calling on people to question the health and wellness messages they encounter every day, and to ask: who really benefits?
Running from Monday 7 September to Sunday 13 September 2026, this year’s theme, Redefining ‘Wellness’: Stories we’re sold about our health and bodies, challenges the growing influence of diet and wellness culture, exploring how popular narratives about health, appearance and self-improvement can contribute to body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and eating disorders.
Eating disorders affect more than 1.1 million people in Australia, along with their families and supporters, in every community across the country. Since 2012, the number of people impacted by eating disorders has increased by over 21 per cent.[2]
At a time when wellness trends dominate social media feeds, advertising, and everyday conversations, BIEDAW 2026 promotes a broader and more inclusive understanding of wellbeing. There is no single way for wellbeing to look or feel. Self-trust, food freedom, joyful movement, mental wellbeing and body respect can all be part of the picture, rather than appearance or body size alone.
“Wellness shouldn’t make anyone feel worse about themselves. Narrow appearance ideals are not health goals, and this week we are asking everyone to consider whose interests are served by the messages we are sold about our health and bodies,” said Jim Hungerford, CEO of Butterfly.
With the global wellness economy forecast to reach $9 trillion by 2028[3], experts are encouraging people to look critically at many of the messages sold to us as self-care and self-improvement that may profit off body insecurities, pushing unrealistic body and appearance ideals.
“We receive so many conflicting messages about health in our society, but what a lot of people don’t realise is that these are perpetrated by industries and systems of power that exist to profit from our own insecurities,” said Jade Gooding, CEO of Australia New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders.
Over 1 in 3 adolescents in Australia engage in disordered eating behaviours, such as dieting[4] – with wellness culture placing further pressure around ‘clean eating’. Dieting is one of the largest, modifiable risk factors in the development of an eating disorder.
“Diet culture’s most damaging ideas – that some bodies are worth more than others, that foods are ‘good’ or ‘bad’, that falling short of an ‘ideal’ body is a personal failing – haven’t disappeared. They’ve simply been repackaged by wellness culture and sold back to us in the language of ‘health’ – and we need to push back,” said Belinda Chelius, CEO of Eating Disorders Queensland.
Throughout the week, the Eating Disorder Alliance will share stories, education and resources to help people reflect on what wellness means to them and build healthier, more compassionate relationships with food, movement and their bodies.
“It’s unacceptable that diet and wellness companies make millions while evidence tells us dieting is the single biggest behavioural risk factor for an eating disorder. As Victorian rates of disordered eating and eating disorders continue to rise, it’s going to take all of us challenging the narratives we’re sold about food and health,” said Paul Bird, Eating Disorders Victoria CEO.
“Families and carers are exposed to the same relentless messages about weight, food and appearance as everyone else. By challenging those messages and creating homes where wellbeing isn’t defined by body size or appearance, we can better support people with eating disorders in their recovery,” said Jane Rowan, Executive Director of Eating Disorders Families Australia.
“BIEDAW is an important opportunity for us to come together as a community, open up conversations and challenge the stigma that can prevent people from seeking support. We each have an individual role to play, but it is ultimately collaboration that allows us to move towards a future where every person can access the care they need, when and where they need it,” said Director of the National Eating Disorder Collaboration, Sarah Trobe.
Anyone concerned about their own or someone else’s relationship with food, exercise or body image can contact the Butterfly National Helpline on 1800 33 4673 (1800 ED HOPE), open 8am to midnight (AEST), seven days a week, or via webchat and email at butterfly.org.au.
ENDS
Media invitation: One Voice campaign launch, Canberra
Media are invited to join the Eating Disorder Alliance at Parliament House during BIEDAW for the launch of One Voice, a national campaign bringing together the voices of the eating disorder sector. The launch will feature a conversation about what is working, what is needed and how practical next steps can improve lives in every electorate.
When: Thursday 10 September 2026, 10:45am
Where: Mural Hall, Parliament House, Canberra
Media RSVP: zoe.bradbury@butterfly.org.au
Interview opportunities:
- Parliamentary Friends of Eating Disorder Awareness Co-Chairs – Susan Templeman MP, Andrew Wallace MP, Zali Steggall MP
- CEOs/ Directors of member organisations of Eating Disorders Alliance
- People with lived experience available on request
Media contact
Zoe Bradbury – Butterfly Communications Manager
About BIEDAW
Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness Week (BIEDAW) is held annually in the first full week of September. BIEDAW is a national campaign proudly led by the Eating Disorder Alliance, Australia’s leading eating disorder organisations: Butterfly Foundation, the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED), Eating Disorders Victoria, Eating Disorders Queensland, Eating Disorders Families Australia (EDFA), the National Eating Disorder Collaboration, Inside Out Institute, and the Australian Eating Disorder Research and Translation Centre.
Notes to Editors
Please include the following support line details in all media coverage of this story and refer to the Mindframe Media Guidelines for safe reporting on eating disorders.
Help and Support
Anyone needing support with eating disorders or body image issues is encouraged to contact:
- Butterfly National Helpline on 1800 33 4673 (1800 ED HOPE) or visit butterfly.org.au to chat online or email.
- Eating Disorders Victoria Helpline on 1300 550 236
- For urgent support call Lifeline 13 11 14
[1] Global Wellness Economy Monitor, 2024: https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/industry-research/2024-global-wellness-economy-monitor/
[2] Butterfly Foundation, Paying the Price. https://butterfly.org.au/who-we-are/research-policy-publications/payingtheprice2024/
[3] Global Wellness Economy Monitor, 2024: https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/industry-research/2024-global-wellness-economy-monitor/
[4] Sparti C, Santomauro D, Cruwys T, Burgess P, Harris M. Disordered eating among Australian adolescents: prevalence, functioning, and help received. Int J Eat Disord. 2019;52(3):246-54.
