Hope Virgo, who started the petition, said she was turned away from services in 2016 because she was not “underweight enough to access eating disorder support”.
“I felt just so frustrated and angry that a system which is a mental health service – but should be understanding of eating disorders – had no real understanding that eating disorders present in all different body sizes.
“I was also frustrated that society, that government, also don’t understand eating disorders to that extent.”
She added the campaign was looking at prevention and education so that people with eating disorders did not get to the point where intense treatment was needed. It is also calling for guaranteed timely access to specialist treatment, and a closer look at accessibility within services.
“We need to be getting in there much earlier and while there has been some focus on early intervention over the last couple of years, there just has not been enough, particularly in school environments,” she added.