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Abstract
To facilitate early recognition of eating disorder (ED) symptoms several organizations in the Netherlands have started to give lessons about risk factors and characteristics of ED in secondary schools. These lessons are given by ex-patients who have received special training. In this paper the results will be presented of an evaluation of a total of 234 lessons presented to 3879 secondary school students. In total 95% of the students evaluated these lessons as very informative: 17 % recognized ED symptoms in others and 9% in themselves. Of the last group 41% would like to discuss their problems with a peer or friend, 39% with their parents, 27% with an ex-patient, 5% with a teacher and 17% with a general practitioner or a therapist. However, 33% of them did not want to talk about their eating problems at all. In total 37% of all students wanted an extra hour for asking questions. Although early recognition can be facilitated by lessons about ED, more activities are necessary to guarantee early help and treatment.