Swedish Democrats leader admits to disordered eating habits

Swedish Democrats party leader Jimmie Åkesson has described his relationship with food as “100 percent disordered eating,” according to an interview with public broadcaster SVT’s Fördomsshowen.

Åkesson revealed he experiences constant anxiety about his weight and alternates between periods of strict calorie counting and consuming large amounts of unhealthy food. “I can eat enormous quantities of very unhealthy food,” he said in the programme, which aired on SVT1.

During periods of dieting, he admitted to meticulously weighing every piece of food—”even each bit of onion”—to track his intake precisely. Fifteen years ago, he lost 30 kilograms but has since gradually regained weight, he explained.

Åkesson also referenced a Stockholm restaurant where customers receive a T-shirt for finishing a burger with over 600 grams of meat. “I’ve never done it, but someday I will,” he said, adding that he is currently in a “cutting phase” ahead of the election campaign.

The full interview is available on SVT Play or on SVT1 at 22:00 on Friday.