Jeff Stelling shares daughter's 'heartbreaking' anorexia battle after slamming government
Jeff Stelling shares daughter's 'heartbreaking' anorexia battle after slamming government
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Former Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling has opened up about his daughter's battle with anorexia. Stelling has become a high-profile campaigner on the issue, raising awareness and calling for the government to provide more support. Back in 2023, Stelling spoke passionately about the 'Dump The Scales' campaign and criticised the government's "lack of awareness and funding".
He also revealed in an interview with the Athletic that he had a "friend" whose daughter was struggling with anorexia. "Years and years ago, I thought, 'How can that be an illness?'," Stelling said. "I was one of these ill-informed people that felt it was just all about vanity and it wasn't a mental health issue. But, obviously, it's a massive mental health issue. You've got to keep banging on about that; this is not just a weight thing, the balance of their mind is affected. It creeps up on you.
"You almost don't realise what's happening until it's too late. They feel that food is the enemy. They exchange horrific photographs on websites, which are worse than any website you've seen, of their skin and bones, and the fact they have a BMI of 13 and a half, but they're desperate to get to 13 or 12 and a half.
"And there is something inside them telling them that's where they need to be. That putting on weight is a fate worse than death. And I mean that quite literally. Somebody texted me at work after [his speech]. "And I can relate to this because my friends did it as well. He said that, with his daughter, they would sit outside of her bedroom at night with their ears to the door to try and tell that she was still alive. Wondering if she'd be alive in the morning.".
