Officer Leads:
Bana Asqalan - Women Students Community Officer
2-6 February 2026
TRIGGER WARNINGS: This campaign discusses eating disorders and body image. Please take care while engaging and support resources are available below.
Beat - The UK's eating disorder charity. They're a champion, guide and friend to anyone affected, giving sufferers and their loved ones a place where they feel listend to, support, and empowered. For further information, click the button below.
Wellbeing Support Team - The University's Wellbeing Support Team are there to support all studetns with their wellbeing. Their Advisers will help co-ordinate the right support for your or signpost / refer you to others within the department for longer term or more specialised support. For further information, click the button below.
Beyond The Plate - Nourish Your Mind, Fuel Your Body is an awareness campaign run by Bana, your Women Students Community Officer, to raise awareness and understanding of eating disorders by promoting balanced nutrition, positive body image and mental well-being. Throughout the week, the events throughout the campaign week challenge harmful myths about dieting and de-stigmatise current social media trends of the ‘perfect body’.
On campus you can find additional support from the Active Lifestyle and Sport (ALS) Team who have Personal Trainers and Officers trained to support, guide and provide confidence or a safe way to gym-based exercise. David Cole, Wellbeing & Fitness Officer, supports Students learning from his own experience explaining:
I’ve spent years helping people find their footing again, because I know what it feels like when life doesn’t feel steady under your feet. Between 16 and 20, I lived with suicidal thoughts and disordered eating, and at the same time I was competing for England Athletics in the high jump. Holding both of those realities at once shaped how I coach now: with empathy, patience, and zero judgement.
Now, as a Personal Trainer and Wellbeing & Fitness Officer, I lead a Wellbeing Referral Programme that supports people who want guidance, confidence, or a safe way into gym-based exercise. I also deliver welcoming group exercise sessions for students, staff, and the wider community, because movement should feel like something you get to do, not something you’re punished with.
More recently, recovering from meningitis has deepened my respect for the slow rebuild, the lingering fatigue, and the courage it takes to show up anyway. Whether someone’s goal is strength, energy, routine, or simply feeling more like themselves again, I’m here to help as part of the Royal Holloway Sport team to make that journey doable, human, and sustainable.
You can reach out to David Cole via Socials or by popping down to the Sport Centre at the bottom of campus.
Come along to events to find supportive spaces and resources where you can learn, reflect and have a healthy relationship with food and body image throughout community building and signposting. Everyone is welcome at events and we can't wait to see you!
Events
Wed 04 Feb 2026
This week Bana, Women Students Community Officer, is hosting a campaign called Beyond the Plate to raise awareness and understanding of eating disorders within the student community. As part of the campaign, we asked the Active Lifestyle and Sport Team to support and alongside an informative event taking place throughout the week, they have also written a blog on fuelling your body.
