Talk to someone now. Call our National Helpline 7 days a week, 8am-midnight (AEST/AEDT) on 1800 33 4673. You can also chat online or email

Eating disorders
What can cause an eating disorder?

It’s unlikely that one single thing will lead to an eating disorder. There is often a combination of risk factors, including genetics, emotional factors and cultural influences.

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Who gets eating disorders?

No matter your size, shape, age, abilities, gender identity, sexuality, cultural or linguistic background, economic status or location, anyone can experience an eating disorder.

Do you know someone at risk?

Approximately 9% of Australians will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime but it’s not possible to tell if a person has an eating disorder simply by their appearance.
Body image
What is body image?

Body image is the thoughts, feelings, attitudes and beliefs we have about our bodies and how we look, including our shape, size, weight, and the way our body functions for us.

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Body image issues don’t discriminate.

There are many factors that can contribute to poor body image and body dissatisfaction. Body image issues affect people of all ages, genders and across all cultures.

Body image programs

Butterfly’s programs for young people, professionals and parents are evidence based and designed to provide practical strategies, skills and resources to support positive body image and healthy behaviours in young Australians.
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Butterfly provides support, care, referrals and resources

Whether for you, a friend, a family member, a client, or anyone else that you care about, Butterfly is here to offer support.

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Screening Tool

Use our simple and anonymous screening tool to help you know if you are experiencing symptoms of an eating disorder.

Search Butterfly's Referral Database

Find eating disorder professionals, services and treatment nearest to you, through our Referral Database, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Health Professionals
Information, resources and referrals for your clients

Our Helpline and support services are not only for people impacted by eating disorders and body image issues, but also for clinicians and other health and education professionals.

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Butterfly referral database

Butterfly's Referral Database provides a directory of professionals, screened for an understanding of eating disorders, so people Australia-wide can find appropriate care..

Medicare items for eating disorders

Patients with a clinical diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other eating disorders may be eligible for new Medicare rebates under the Eating Disorder Medicare Plan.
School & Youth Professionals
Programs for people working with young people

Butterfly offers presentations, resources and workshops to teachers, professionals, young people and parents on the risk and protective factors for body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and eating disorders.

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Body Kind Schools

Support young people’s body image by joining Butterfly’s annual free schools awareness initiative. Finding ways to feel positive about your body can be challenging but we can all try to be kinder.

Butterfly Body Bright

A new whole of school program to promote positive body image and healthy attitudes and behaviours towards the body, eating, and physical activity in primary school-aged children.
Who we are
About Butterfly

Butterfly changes lives by providing support services, treatment and resources, delivering prevention and early intervention programs and advocating for the needs of those with eating disorders and body image issues.

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A Voice for Change

As the voice of lived experience, Butterfly advocates on behalf of people impacted by negative body image, eating disorders, and those who support and care for them.

Our Partners and Supporters

Butterfly is extremely grateful for the passion and commitment of our dedicated corporate and community partners.
Get involved
Ways to get involved

There are many different ways you can get involved and help bring about positive change for those experiencing eating disorders and negative body image. You are a vital part of the solution.

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Make an even bigger impact by donating monthly to help us plan ahead for our programs, treatment facility, support groups, and more.

Talk to someone now. Call our National Helpline 7 days a week, 8am-midnight (AEST/AEDT) on 1800 33 4673. You can also chat online or email

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Blog

Blog

A space for sharing all things body image and eating disorders related. All blog entries are written by our staff, those with a lived experience and professionals.

Tag: diet culture

Kindly Do, Kindly Don’t: Advice from people with lived experience

Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week (BIEDAW) is a vital time to raise awareness, break down stigma and encourage help-seeking, so we asked our lived experience community for their 'Kindly Do' and 'Kindly Don't' advice when it comes to discussing eating disorders, food, appearance and bodies - and how we can all play a role in providing increased support and encourage help-seeking.

Weight for It – Let’s Stop Talking About Our Weight

Associate Professor at The University of Western Australia Law School and expert body image lawyer Dr. Marilyn Bromberg shares why we need to remove weight from the conversation.

Navigating the holidays and New Years’ diet culture with an eating disorder

The New Year period can be difficult for people with eating disorders, with diet culture getting increasingly loud this time of year. Tara, who has lived experience of eating disorders, shares her tips for navigating this period and focusing on your recovery.

Be You, Be Free: How I overcame an eating disorder to become an author, body positive PT, and intuitive eating counsellor

"Once recovered from my eating disorder, all I wanted to do was help others who were going through what I went through. I hope my book will help you feel alive, help you feel connected, but mostly, that it will help you uncover the person that you were meant to be before the world and diet culture told you who you had to be." Shreen shares her recovery story & how it led her to write 'Be You, Be Free'

Keeping diet culture out of Halloween: advice for parents on language around food

Halloween is a great opportunity to foster a healthy relationship with food in your children and emphasise that all foods belong and can be enjoyed in a varied diet. But like any holiday that centers around food, diet culture can creep in. We provide advice for parents on language around food.

Learning to take care of my mind – my story of asking for help

Angelica grew up surrounded by diet culture, and it impacted her relationship to food and her body. In this blog, she shares how counselling helped to heal her mind, and why everyone should incorporate some 'body celebration' into their lives.

A Fitness Instructor in Eating Disorder Recovery Talks Healing From Toxic Fitness Culture

Whether it’s feeling intimated in the gym, only exercising for weight-loss, or being berated by fitness instructors to push your body to its limits, toxic fitness culture can be incredibly damaging. In this blog, Henry shares how he is navigating toxic fitness culture while in recovery from an eating disorder.

Appearance-based discrimination as a human rights issue – the case for legislative reform

In historic new legislation, New York City is set to ban weight discrimination. Butterfly's Head of Research, Knowledge and Policy Sarah Squires examines what this means for weight stigma reduction in an Australian context.

Why The Diet Failed You

"Have you ever felt like you failed a diet, or a diet failed you? You're not alone. Millions of people around the world go on diets every year, hoping to achieve the perfect body, health, or performance. However, most diets don't work in the long run, and some can even harm your physical and mental health. Why is that?" Non-diet dietitian Max shares why diets often fail and how they impacted his own experience of Orthorexia.

International No Diet Day: The link between eating disorders and diets

Research has linked diets as a strong risk factor for eating disorder development. Eating disorder early career researcher Melissa highlights why diets can impact eating disorders and how she was personally impacted.

How can early intervention help eating disorder recovery?

The 2022 theme for Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness week is 'Know the signs, and act early'. We asked our lived experience network, the Butterfly Collective, how early intervention could have stopped their eating disorders from developing and thriving, and how it could make recovery more possible.

Diet culture 101: What is it and what can we do about it?

Diet culture is receiving more attention on mainstream and social media platforms, but what does it actually mean? In this article, University of Melbourne researchers Dr Natalie Jovanovski and Tess Jaeger explore what diet culture is and how we can all resist it in our everyday lives.

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Butterfly acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we work as the first people of this country.

We commit to embracing diversity and eliminating discrimination in health care. We welcome all help-seekers and strive to create a safe place for all people, irrespective of their size, shape, age, abilities, gender, sexuality, cultural background, language, economic status, profession or location.

Butterfly acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we work as the first people of this country.

We commit to embracing diversity and eliminating discrimination in health care. We welcome all help-seekers and strive to create a safe place for all people, irrespective of their size, shape, age, abilities, gender, sexuality, cultural background, language, economic status, profession or location.

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