Disturbed One Direction star Zayn Malik says has finally conquered his eating disorder and anxiety demons, thanks to a break from the spotlight at home with his parents. The ex-boyband singer insists he has now controlled his eating habits and no longer suffers from the mental health issues that prevented him performing live since launching his solo career a year ago. On his eating battle, Zayn 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. “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.” Zayn, who quit One Direction in 2015, had to cancel a string of live shows after his crippling anxiety left him unable to perform. After launching his solo career last year, he pulled out of his first European solo show for Capital FM’s Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium just minutes before he was due to take to the stage. He cancelled a second gig at Dubai’s Autism Rocks three months later, telling fans he had made progress but still didn’t feel “sufficiently confident”.