Young Norwich woman helping to battle eating disorders

A young woman from Norwich, who has a disorder that makes her feel compelled to eat, has created a website to support others with similar conditions.

Fixer Ria Box, 21, has battled Binge Eating Disorder (B.E.D.), where a person feels compelled to overeat on a regular basis, since a young age.

Working with Fixers, the national movement of young people ‘fixing the future’, Ria has created the website, www.defeatbinging.com, to raise awareness of B.E.D and help people understand what is happening to them before it’s too late.

“I have always been overweight,” says Ria. “When I was younger my family couldn’t understand why I was putting on a stone every year because I was eating the same as my older sister who didn’t have a weight problem.

“So my mum took me to see a dietician from the age of four. I was bullied every day at school, which only made the condition worse.

“B.E.D is psychological, and often I am trapped in a vicious cycle. My past problems make me angry inside, and I feel rubbish about my weight, so I binge. This only causes me to gain more weight.

“I find it difficult to do the things I want to do as I have a slipped disc and sciatica. I put on eight stone last year and more since. It stops me going out with friends and wanting to see people.

“Before I’d be the loud funny one and I’d be out all the time and now I can’t bear it. The only people I’m confident with are family and close friends.

Ria found that talking through her problems in therapy really helped, and wanted to create a place where other people with the condition could chat and find support.

“I want to raise recognition of this illness and help those who feel out of control with food to overcome their problems,” she says.

“I will be adding weekly updates on the website and my Facebook page – www.facebook.com/b.e.dsupport - so that people can understand it more and not feel alone.”

Fixers is a charity which supports thousands of young people across the UK to take action and change things for the better, addressing any issue they feel strongly about.

How each Fixer tackles an issue is up to them – as long as they benefit someone else.

The award-winning Fixers project has already supported 7,800 young people across the UK to have an authentic voice in their community.

Now, thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers aims to work with a further 20,000 young people over the next three years.

Fixers is a project of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), a charity that brings together mainstream broadcasters, public and voluntary sector services, and viewers.

“Fixers started in 2008 as just an idea… an idea given a voice by 7,800 young people over the past five years,” says Margo Horsley, Chief Executive of PSBT.

“They have reached thousands of people with their work, on a national stage as well as in and around where they live. They choose the full array of social and health issues facing society today and set about making their mark. Fixers are always courageous and their ideas can be challenging and life-changing, not just for themselves.”

Peter Ainsworth, Big Lottery Fund UK Chair, said: “The Big Lottery Fund is extremely proud to be supporting Fixers to engage with more young people to change things for the better. Fixers has a tremendous potential – one young person’s initial idea can be transformed into reality, spread across a community and make a positive influence on a wide range of people. There are thousands of young people campaigning to make improvements in their neighbourhoods and Fixers provides a platform to highlight their voluntary work and many achievements.”

Ria is not willing to be photographed.

For more information, please contact Sue Meaden in the Fixers Communications Team by email sue@fixers.org.uk or phone 01962 810970.

There are lots more stories about young people doing great things on the Fixers website, Twitter and Facebook pages:
htpp://www.fixers.org.uk
http://www.twitter.com/FixersUK
http://www.facebook.com/FixersUK

Notes to editors:

• Fixers started in England in 2008. Now with a £7.2 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers is extending into Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. To date, over 7,800 young people across the UK have become Fixers and created nearly 1,000 projects.
• The Public Service Broadcasting Trust is a charity that brings together mainstream broadcasters, public and voluntary sector services, and viewers.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.