BBC’s Headroom campaign “to tackle the psychological issues surrounding conditions such as anorexia, bulimia and obesity” began last night with this film about a morbidly obese teenager whose size is putting her life at risk.

“Growing numbers of people in the UK are affected by eating disorders and obesity and we want to draw attention to some of the extraordinarily complex psychological concerns around those disorders” explains Headroom campaign executive Nina Bell.

“The aim of Headroom is to help people find a way through the problems thrown at them in everyday lives, not by suggesting a particular course of action but by helping them to unravel the complexities involved and assisting them to find their own way to better mental health and well-being.”

Very honourable I’m sure but, cynic that I am, I felt that a big part of the programme was simply the shock factor that someone so young could be so large… Had this been an American show, it might well have been called something like, “When Good Kids Go Fat” or similar. Read more & comment »