Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has been praised for revealing he suffered from bulimia.

Mr Prescott spoke out about his struggle for the first time in support of an NHS campaign to raise awareness of eating disorders.

Other high-profile sufferers of bulimia nervosa, which sees sufferers eat compulsively then make themselves sick, include Princess Diana and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.

Mr Prescott said in a newspaper article the stress-related condition began in the early 1980s when he was in Labour's shadow cabinet.

He tried to hide the problem from his wife Pauline, but she realised what was wrong and persuaded him to see a doctor, who diagnosed bulimia.

Mr Prescott said: "I've never confessed it before. Out of shame, I suppose, or embarrassment or just because it's such a strange thing for someone like me to confess to.

"People normally associate it with young women - anorexic girls, models trying to keep their weight down, or women in stressful situations, like Princess Diana."

"I'm sure it was to do with stress. I wasn't doing it all the time, and there would be gaps of weeks and months, but during those years when we first got into power, I let things get on top of me and took refuge in stuffing my face."

Consultant psychiatrist and eating disorder specialist Dr Ty Glover from Cheadle Royal Hospital in Cheshire said: "It's a hugely brave and courageous thing for John to come out and admit that he was a bulimia sufferer.

"It's hard enough for a young girl to confess to, but for a high profile male politician approaching 70, it's especially impressive.

"It seriously makes me think that maybe we're completely missing a whole audience of middle-aged men who are too scared to admit they have a problem.

"John's bravery will hopefully encourage more men to stop suffering in silence and come forward to seek treatment."

Mr Prescott details his battle with the illness in his memoirs, which are to be serialised in the newspaper in May.

The politician, who resigned from the Government last June and will retire as an MP at the next election, says he recovered from the illness more than a year ago.

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