October 28, 2024
F-50: F-50 is a peer to peer online mentoring program designed to help people with eating disorders reclaim their everyday lives. Our mentors are called buddies, are formerly affected individuals who guide participants through a 12-week online course, providing strategies to improve symptoms and quality of life from home. Our female-led team of six has personal experience with eating disorders and expertise in the field, aiming to make a meaningful change.
I (Claudia) suffered from an eating disorder for years. After experiencing frustration with the available solutions, I couldn’t believe there were no digital options on the market. That’s when I decided to take action and founded F-50. I started with an accelerator program, assembled a team, and now we have a working prototype that’s receiving positive feedback.
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F-50: Eating disorders affect more people than commonly perceived. Accurate statistics are hard to obtain due to underreporting, but studies suggest that 9% of the global population is affected, including about 7 million people in Germany. We estimate the real number in Germany to be closer to 15 million.
F-50: Eating disorders are very much related to shame. The affected individuals wait 2 to 5 years on average to seek help, and some never do. They fear judgment and misunderstanding if they disclose their condition. It is a highly stigmatized mental illness from all sides: the affected feel ashamed and don’t talk about it, family and friends often don’t know how to help due to misinformation and myths, and professionals often lack the resources to deal with it, leading to misdiagnosis. Gender bias also plays a significant role. Eating disorders have been socially considered "a women's issue" because most diagnoses come from women, although men are equally affected. Gender biases in research and sexism in the health system result in fewer solutions for eating disorders compared to other mental illnesses. Women with eating disorders are often expected to "just deal with it," similar to other conditions such as endometriosis, lipedema, PMS, and menopause, which were long not taken seriously enough (and in some cases still aren't).
F-50: Not at all. We see an increase in cases by 30% in teenagers in Germany after the COVID pandemic, which was a catalyst for eating disorders. However, when we talk with health insurance companies, most of them are not interested in developing solutions targeted to this population because they consider it a niche illness compared to more prevalent issues like depression or anxiety. What we are trying to do is convince them about the economic and social impacts of eating disorders. We can’t forget that eating disorders are the second deadliest mental illness after opioid addiction. They are complex illnesses that come with comorbidities, meaning they often occur along with depression, ADHD, or PTSD, and have a strong potential for becoming chronic, which ends up affecting sufferers their whole lives with significant costs for the health system. They need to be aware of these long-term consequences and invest more in prevention solutions, but trying to avoid problems before they become bigger seems to be a hard task in the society we live in.
F-50: The German health system is close to collapse. There is a lack of specialists and an increase in demand, which makes waiting times for a therapy place up to a year. This is not acceptable in a powerful economy like Germany. Germany is also behind other European countries in digitalization and lacks innovation due to strict data protection laws. This makes the situation even worse. With F-50, we try to close the gap and offer an easily accessible solution that can be used anytime, anywhere, from your phone or computer, without needing to see a doctor. We aim to alleviate the market by offering support so that affected individuals don’t need to wait on a waiting list.
F-50: It's technically not a project, but I love seeing our program participants getting better and healing. It is the most rewarding thing to see, that what you have built and put all your energy in, is helping someone on their journey.
F-50: Our podcasts shines a light on eating disorders from many angles. Listen to experts talk about the metabolism or learn about a day in the life of someone with an eating disorder. We aim to show people, that they are not alone with that topic, but also tell them, that it is important to look for help.
F-50: We offer F-50 directly to consumers, but we are also engaging with businesses that want to include mental health benefits in their employee care programs and speaking to health insurances. Additionally, we are collaborating with sports centres to introduce F-50 to their staff through the "train the trainers" program, which focuses on professional development in this underrated area. Part of our vision includes prevention programs in schools since most eating disorders begin during puberty. We also emphasize the need for self-love and body acceptance, as these are crucial in addressing the root causes of many eating disorders.
F-50: We love the familiar atmosphere here. It has the right size to be in contact with people if you want, and the space to be a loner if you prefer. People are generally very helpful, and there are many interesting individuals to connect with. The betabreakfast is always a weekly highlight with great talks. Oh! And the staff is super friendly, and the (free) coffee is amazing.
F-50: If you are affected and you are reading this: reach out to us and get help as soon as you can, you are not alone! If you know someone who is affected: reach out to us, we want to support you too. If you want to support the cause or invest in our idea, contact us at contact@f-50.app. We are also very nice people ;)
