Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2026: Redefining Wellness
The Eating Disorder Alliance today announces the theme for Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week (BIEDAW) 2026: Redefining ‘Wellness’ – Stories We’re Sold About Health and Our Bodies. The national awareness week will take place from Monday, 7 September to Sunday, 13 September 2026.
The 2026 theme challenges the growing influence of diet and wellness culture, exploring how popular narratives about health, appearance and self-improvement can contribute to body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and eating disorders. It encourages all people in Australia to question who benefits from wellness messages that promote narrow and often unattainable ideals.
At a time when wellness trends dominate social media feeds, advertising and everyday conversations, BIEDAW 2026 will promote a broader and more inclusive understanding of wellbeing and health. This is a chance to recognise that there is no single way for wellbeing to look or feel and to explore the ideas of self-trust, food freedom, joyful movement, mental wellbeing and body respect as potential components of ‘wellness’, rather than solely appearance or body size.
The campaign is set to celebrate the strength and resilience of people living with and recovering from eating disorders while supporting anyone navigating a world saturated with diet and wellness messaging. Through storytelling, education and community connection, people will be encouraged to reflect on what wellness means to them and to build healthier, more compassionate relationships with food, movement and their bodies.
The Eating Disorder Alliance encourages people in Australia to recognise BIEDAW and critically consider the health and wellbeing messages they encounter and how they may affect people’s relationships with food, movement and their bodies, while asking: who benefits from this? Whose interests are being served?
Ways to get involved
- Thursday 20 – Sunday 23 August: Attend the annual ANZAED conference.
- Thursday 10 September, 12:30-1:30pm: free EDV webinar Building Your Media Literacy Toolkit. Register now.
- September – date TBC: Butterfly Foundation webinar. Register now.
- September – date TBC: Eating Disorders Queensland will be hosting a morning tea for their community in South Brisbane, and the Brisbane Story Bridge and Victoria Bridge will light up in EDQ and BIEDAW colours.
About BIEDAW
Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week (BIEDAW) is a national awareness campaign dedicated to improving understanding of body image concerns, disordered eating and eating disorders, held in the first full week of September. It is led by the Eating Disorder Alliance, comprising Australia’s leading eating disorder organisations, including:
- Australia & New Zealand Academy of Eating Disorders (ANZAED)
- Butterfly Foundation
- Eating Disorders Families Australia (EDFA)
- Eating Disorders Queensland (EDQ)
- Eating Disorders Victoria (EDV)
- National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC)
Media
Media Contact: Katia Pellicciotta 0490 660 259 or [email protected]
Talent available for interview: EDV CEO Paul Bird; people with lived experience upon request
About Eating Disorders Victoria
Eating Disorders Victoria (EDV) is the state’s leading community health service and charity for people impacted by eating disorders. We work for empowered and safe relationships with food, eating, body and movement for everyone.