Sam Thomas (born 8 January 1986 in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
, UK) is a campaigner for men living with
eating disorders
An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating ...
,
mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
&
alcohol addiction. In 2008 he founded Men Get Eating Disorders Too (MGEDT) which in December 2010 became a registered
charity in the UK.
In 2010 Sam won the
''TalkTalk'' "Digital Heroes" awards for the UK South-east region,
[South East Digital Heroes Winner](_blank)
[Profile: Sam Thomas](_blank)
/ref> and the Beat "Young Champion" award. "Beat" is the working name of the ''Eating Disorders Association
Beat is the UK's leading charity supporting those affected by eating disorders and campaigning on their behalf. Founded in 1989 as the Eating Disorders Association, it celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019.
The charity is dedicated to helpin ...
''. Sam was also shortlisted in the Young Philanthropist/Activist category for the Beacon Prize 2010.
Sam developed bulimia himself when he was a teenager. This was a response to mainly homophobic bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...
he suffered at school. He has used his experience to develop an information resource to enable men living with eating disorders to offer one another peer-to-peer support and to improve levels of awareness and understanding throughout society.
As reported in the Brighton ''Argus'', he launched the MGEDT website[ Men's Eating Disorders website launched](_blank)
with support from ''ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
br>Fixers
',[Fixer wins Talktalk Digital Heroes Award](_blank)
a project run in the various regions of the UK national commercial television channel, ITV, which enables young people in the UK to make a difference by tackling a social problem.
The MGEDT campaign has featured in several national newspapers, in which Thomas has commented. A report i
stated that one in ten men may suffer from anorexia or bulimia, to which Thomas said was "the tip of the iceberg".
During 2012 the charity is compiling a petition of at least 100,000 signatures to try and persuade the UK Government to improve services provided for eating disorder sufferers.[Eating Disorders Men launch petition](_blank)
/ref> Sam featured on BBC 1's "Inside Out" programme in Jan 2012 to further raise awareness of eating disorders in men, in particular the barriers sufferers faced seeking help.
In April 2012 Men Get Eating Disorders Too won its first major award in the Mental Healthy Awards for "Heroic Community Organisation".
''HuffPost''''The Independent''''Insider''''Metro''''The Mirror''
an
''Newsweek''
His first memoir “Smashed Not Wasted” was due for publication b
Guts Publishing
in May/June 2023.