A GWENT MP who last month revealed his teenage battle with body image has backed a campaign calling for support for people with eating disorders to be overhauled.

Last month Islwyn's Chris Evans revealed he had suffered with body dysmorphia - a condition when someone spends an inordinate amount of time focusing on a perceived flaw, often unnoticeable to other people, with a specific aspect of their body or appearance - as a teenager.

And now the Labour MP has backed the #DumpTheScales campaign, which is calling for treatment for people with eating disorders to be overhauled.

The campaign was set up by Hope Virgo after her GP told her she was not thin enough to be treated for anorexia.

Mr Evans, who is sponsoring a Parliamentary motion on the campaign, said: "The Dump the Scales campaign has highlighted a real issue.

“It is often an extremely difficult step for someone to go to their doctor and acknowledge they are struggling with an eating disorder. When a person has been brave enough to tell a medical professional they are struggling with an eating disorder they should never be turned away.

“Eating disorders are too complex to be boiled down to numbers on scales. A complete lack of understanding is to blame when people assume someone’s weight must be below a certain point for them to have an eating disorder.”

Ms Virgo said: "I am so excited that we have cross party support coming forward to raise awareness of eating disorders. I never thought that this would happen when I launched my campaign #Dumpthescales a few months ago.

"People with eating disorders are getting an unfair deal in society.

"It is not right that people are turned away from support because of their BMI (Body Mass Index).

"This was devastating to me when I relapsed from anorexia and it happens every day to thousands of people, leaving them feeling suicidal, alone and without help.

"It isn't right that we live in a society which is so fixated on weight and BMI. Eating disorders are not about weight and therefore should not be judged on this."

According to eating disorders charity Beat there are more than one million people in the UK with an eating disorder. But the charity has also said people with eating disorders can face a wait of 85 weeks - around a year and a half - from recognising they have a problem until treatment starts.

For support with eating disorders or body image speak to your GP.

Confidential support is also available from Beat via 0808 801 0677.