Strictly’s John Whaite Bravely Speaks Out About Body Struggles

TW: Eating disorders

Strictly star John Whaite{ =nofollow}has bravely opened up about his struggle with an eating disorder - something he admits he struggles with every single day .In a new interview withattitude magazine, John explained his battle with his eating and how it’s very much an ongoing condition.

'I am bulimic{ =nofollow},' he told the publication. 'I still struggle with that. I go through moments where it doesn’t affect me. [But] every single day is a battle with an eating disorder because it takes over how you see yourself in the mirror, it takes over how many times you feel you should go to the gym, what you can or can’t eat.'

He added that his attitude towards food was formed in his childhood, with his mum and sisters on SlimFast and Weight Watchers as he grew up - culminating in him going on the Atkins diet at just 12 years old. 'I went through a phase of wanting to shrink away, be discrete and small, whereas now I’ve realised I’m six foot two and I’m nearing 16 stone and that’s amazing,' he explained.

He’s not the only male Strictly star to have spoken out about their eating disorders. Current contestant Tom Fletcher has openly talked about his own struggle, explaining in his band McFly’s 2012 autobiography that he 'wanted to lose weight. But rather than going about it the sensible way, I pretty much stopped eating… It was an obsession, and a deeply unhealthy one.'

Even judge Craig Revel Horwood has had his own struggle with self image and restricted his food intake at a young age. 'This led to a lifelong struggle with anorexia and body dysmorphia,' he explained in an interview several years ago. 'I still battle with my food demons, but I’m much better at keeping them under control.'

Those celeb experiences are just the tip of the iceberg, as male eating disorders continue to rise. A recent survey of young people carried out by BEAT revealed that over the last year, there’s been a huge rise in the number of people seeking help for eating disorders - and within that number, there was an increase of over 900 per cent in young men under 18 getting in touch.

For help and support for eating disorders you can visit Beat on beateatingdisorders.org.uk or call 0808 801 0677.

READ MORE: Dianne Buswell Opens Up About Her Early Strictly Departure