Prior to his most recent health issue, Malik had candidly shared his experiences with intense pressure and anxiety. Additionally, in his 2016 autobiography, he disclosed developing a “quite serious” eating disorder during his time with his previous boy band.
He expressed, “Something I’ve never talked about in public before, but which I have come to terms with since leaving the band, is that I was suffering from an eating disorder.” He clarified his lack of concern over his weight, stating, “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.”
Malik acknowledged the situation “got quite serious,” though he did not initially recognize it for what it was. He further explained that he did not deliberately limit his diet, stating, “I think it was about control. I didn’t feel like I had control over anything else in my life, but food was something I could control, so I did. I had lost so much weight I had become ill. The workload and the pace of life on the road, combined with the pressures and strains of everything going on within the band, had badly affected my eating habits.”
