Childhood Issues More children have anorexia than previously thought, study finds
More children have anorexia than previously thought, study finds
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More than two and a half times as many children under 10 have anorexia nervosa as previously thought, according to the first study into eating disorders among British children.
More than two and a half times as many children under 10 have anorexia nervosa as previously thought, according to the first study into eating disorders among British children.
On average, 1.5 in every 200,000 British children under 10 have anorexia, according to experts from the UCL (University College London) Institute of Child Health, who carried out the research.
Direct comparison with previous UK data is limited but a general practice registry study in the early 1990s found an incidence estimate of 0.6 per 200,000 for anorexia among children aged up to nine.
The findings have shocked experts, who called for "urgent action" to help save young lives. There are no national paediatric guidelines for the care of individuals with eating disorders.
"Recognition of eating disorders in children by GPs can be poor and, unfortunately, many eating disorder services are aimed specifically at adolescents," said Dr Dasha Nicholls, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at the UCL Institute of Child Health and the study's lead researcher.
"Childhood eating disorders are not quick or easy to treat. For a minority of children it may be the start of a severe and enduring illness, with death rates comparable to some forms of leukaemia.
"Early-onset eating disorders – defined as those starting before 13 years of age – represent a significant clinical burden to paediatric and mental health services. Efforts to improve early detection are needed but our study also shows there is an urgent need to consider the needs of children with eating disorders separately – and not simply lower the age range of existing adolescent services," said Nicholls.
Most of the 208 patients in Nicholls's study were girls – 82% – but boys accounted for almost one in five cases.
Previous research from the NHS Information Centre has found that children aged 14 to 16 account for one in every three patients treated in hospital for an eating disorder, an 11% rise on the 2,316 cases recorded for the previous 12 months.
The findings have galvanised concern that society's obsession with physical appearance is making children become body-conscious at an increasingly early age. Blame has been placed on everything from poor parenting to the media and websites such as Facebook.
Read more at The Guardian website.
