Most eating disorder sufferers wait seven years before seeking help.
But at Canberra's Eating Disorders Clinical Hub, an average patient is about two or three years into their disorder, service coordinator Alex Cobb estimates.
The free referral program accepts anyone in the ACT who concerned about their eating or body image, or that of a loved one.
They have had 635 patients in the 18 months since launching last year, and there is no waiting list, Ms Cobb said.
It is one part of the territory-wide model of care for eating disorders, a plan to coordinate eating disorder treatment in the ACT which was launched on Monday.
More than 20,000 Canberrans suffer
In 2019, an estimated 11,500 women and 6,400 men in the territory suffered from the disease, a report from Deloitte Access Economics found.
Ms Cobb said about four per cent of Canberrans have an eating disorder, which is consistent with the nationwide average.
Only one in four sufferers in Australia seek help, the Butterfly Foundation says.
There were long waiting times for Canberrans seeking eating disorder treatment before the hub opened, psychiatrist and ACT Health mental health coordinator Dr Elizabeth Moore said.
The Clinical Eating Hub sees a wide variety of clients. Many are seeking help at an earlier point in their illness, Ms Cobb said.
"Previously, maybe only people who were quite severe would contact us," she said.
"With the launch of the hub, lots of different types of clients are contacting us - young people, families, older adults, males, females, from a wide age range."
Starting treatment years earlier could prevent hospitalisations or stop eating disorders becoming severe, Ms Cobb said.
"The longer you have an eating disorder, the more narrow people's lives [can] become, and then the harder it is to widen it again in recovery," she said.
"Hopefully we can prevent the high level of medical complications, the physical side effects, the psychological impacts, the impact it has on the families and carers.
"But it doesn't matter how long someone has an eating disorder for, they can recover."
The mortality rate of people with eating disorders is six times higher than those without, according to the Butterfly Foundation.
What an eating disorder looks like
Factors leading to eating disorders include trauma, perfection, body image issues, low esteem or self worth.
Many people with eating disorders that have co-existing or related mental health conditions, known as comorbidities. These include anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.
Canberrans do not have to meet the diagnostic criteria for any eating disorder to access the Eating Disorders Clinical Hub.
People of all sizes, ages, genders and ethnicities access the service, Ms Cobb said.
Constantly thinking about food, weight, your body or diet is a "red flag", Dr Moore said.
Unrealistic body ideals, diet culture and a false societal belief that a lower weight is always healthier can lead to eating disorders, Ms Cobb said.
"You don't have to be a certain shape or weight or size to be healthy," she said.
"Health is eating regularly, it's eating a wide variety of food, it's being content and happy that our bodies can do the things it needs to do every day."
Holistic model
The early intervention service is one part of the ACT government's territory-wide model of care for eating disorders.
This plan includes a patient pathway, which sets out what services are available for sufferers according to the severity of their condition and type of care they need, Dr Moore said.
"[The] new model brings everything together. It very clearly shows a continuum of care, from people who might be starting early in their episode of eating disorder right through to those that need very intensive care," she said.
"The thing that is unique about this [model] is it actually plots the whole of the patient journey, the whole of the continuum."
There are four stages, ranging from primary care - such as GPs and education within schools - to inpatient medical care for the severely ill.
The third stage of the program includes the residential eating disorder clinic, for which construction has begun in Coombs.
- People can contact the hub via phone on 02 5124 4326 or by email at chs.eatingdisordersclinicalhub@act.gov.au
- Butterfly Foundation national helpline: 1800 33 4673
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
