Almost half of young people with eating disorders believe bullying contributed to their illness, it is claimed. The charity Beat has carried out the biggest ever study linking the two behaviours, involving more than six hundred 16 to 25-year-olds suffering from anorexia, bulimia or overeating. Of those, 91 per cent said they had been bullied, while 46 per cent said they believed that bullying had contributed to their eating disorder. Beat claims it has been getting record numbers of emails, texts and phone calls from people who believe their illnesses are linked to bullying. The charity says there needs to be more urgent, detailed research into links between bullying and eating disorders.

BBC Newsbeat