Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with (a) eating disorder units and (b) GPs throughout the country on the use of weight metrics to diagnose eating disorders; and if he will support the #DumpTheScales campaign.

I have not met with eating disorder units or discussed eating disorders with general practitioners to date.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines published in May 2017 state:

- Initial assessments in primary and secondary mental health care: Do not use single measures such as Body Mass Index (BMI) or duration of illness to determine whether to offer treatment for an eating disorder; and

- Inpatient and day patient treatment: Do not use absolute weight or BMI as a threshold when deciding whether to admit people with an eating disorder to day patient or inpatient care.

Commissioners and health professionals including general practitioners are expected to follow NICE guidelines when diagnosing and treating eating disorders. The NICE guidelines on eating disorders can be found on the NICE website at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng69