Former One Direction star Zayn Malik has revealed his eating disorder was a way to regain control of some part of his life because his time in the band was so regimented.
He admitted he would sometimes go days without eating and it was his mum who helped him recover. He also said speaking out about the eating disorder helped him deal with it.
In his 2016 self-titled autobiography Zayn wrote: “I was suffering from an eating disorder … It wasn’t as though I had any concerns about my weight or anything like that, I’d just go for days – sometimes two or three days straight – without eating anything at all.
“It got quite serious, although at the time I didn’t recognise it for what it was.”
In an interview he said: “It was a control thing. Every area of my life was so regimented and controlled, it was the one area where I could say, ‘No, I’m not eating that.
“Once I got over the control, the eating just came 
back into place, super naturally.
“Not supernaturally! Just really naturally. I came back to the UK and spent some time with my mum and got some TLC, and she cooked me food and I got back in touch, mentally, with a lot of the things I’d lost.”
Schedules for the boys in One Direction were so regimented that they would sometimes have to be in the recording studio straight after performing on stage.
When asked if revealing his eating disorder was beneficial to his anxiety, he said: “Yes. People saw strength in that, and they didn’t seem to expect it from a guy, but they expect it from a female, which to me is crazy.
“We’re all human. People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don’t believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth.”
