Animation shines a light on eating disorder awareness

The Feelings about my body and eating screening tool animation was developed from two years of learning about how eating disorders can present and affect Aboriginal young people in the Kimberley.

The project team partnered with Aboriginal-owned media company Nani Creative to bring these learnings to life in an engaging and culturally meaningful way.

The animation reflects Aboriginal voices and experiences shared throughout the project’s co-design process and was developed under Aboriginal cultural guidance and governance.

Project Manager and Clinical Lead Dr Bronwyn Raykos said that having a visual to clearly explain what this means helps bring the message to life.

“The animation reflects Aboriginal voices and the experiences shared – which is important for representation and connection,” she said.

“By presenting the information in an accessible and engaging way for the audience, we hope it can help people understand what an eating disorder can look like.”

The animation is designed to raise awareness of eating disorder risk among Aboriginal young people and encourage early help-seeking.

It will also help to build awareness of eating disorder concerns earlier and help people understand where they can go to access support.

Voice artists Malati and Conway said the animation will help encourage young people to have a positive relationship with food and recognise their self-worth.

“There should be no shame around eating. Food is an important part of keeping us strong and healthy,” they said.

“We come from strong country men and old people, and we want young people to remember that who you are on the inside matters more than how you look on the outside.”