Half of hospital patients with eating disorder are children... and some are aged just FIVE

  • Number of under-19s taken to hospital with severe eating disorders has risen by a third in a year
  • Among children aged 10-14, it rose by 44 per cent
  • Last year, 2,266 patients of all ages needed treatment, 1, 314 were under 19

By Sophie Borland

PUBLISHED: 16:39 EST, 11 October 2012 | UPDATED: 16:39 EST, 11 October 2012


More than half of all patients admitted to hospital with an eating disorder last year were aged ten to 18, NHS figures show – some of them as young as five years old.

It is the first time the number of under-19s taken to hospital with severe anorexia or bulimia has been so high, having risen by a third in a year.

Among children aged ten to 14, it rose by 44 per cent from the previous year. Campaigners warned that the number of child admissions – for conditions once only thought to affect adults and older teenagers – is ‘concerning’.

I'm not hungry: Over half of all cases admitted to hospital with an eating disorder were under 19

I'm not hungry: Over half of all cases admitted to hospital with an eating disorder were under 19

Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that last year 2,266 patients of all ages needed hospital treatment for an eating disorder, a rise of 16 per cent from 2010/11.

This included 1,314 who were under 19 – who for the first time comprise more than half of all admissions – and 522 children aged ten to 14.

 

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The number of teenagers being admitted is rising faster than other age groups.

Campaigners said GPs have become better at diagnosing eating disorders and referring patients to hospital, which may explain the higher overall numbers. But they warned that family doctors are still not doing enough to help patients during the earlier stages of the disorder.

About 1.6million Britons are thought to suffer from an eating disorder, of whom 90 per cent are women.

Last year, 2,266 patients of all ages needed hospital treatment for an eating disorder
About 1.6million Britons are thought to suffer from an eating disorder

Stick thin: The overwhelming majority of those that suffer from eating disorders are women. Last year 2,266 patients of all ages needed hospital treatment for an eating disorder

The most common types are anorexia, where sufferers starve themselves, and bulimia, where they binge on fatty foods and then make themselves vomit, or take laxatives.

Often by the time sufferers are  admitted to hospital they are so severely underweight they need to be fed through a tube so they do not die from starvation.

Research also shows one in  five will die early due to a complication including heart problems or suicide.

Leanne Thorndyke, of the eating disorders charity Beat, said: ‘I’m not surprised these figures are going up. We speak to people every day who need urgent medical attention.

‘It’s good that people are getting the treatment they need but it also suggests there is something missing earlier on.

CASE STUDY

Four-year battle: Charlotte Seddon died from anorexia aged 17

Four-year battle: Charlotte Seddon died from anorexia aged 17

Charlotte Seddon died from anorexia aged 17 after battling the illness for four years.
The former head girl – described as ‘self-assured’ and ‘popular’ – would hide the illness from her parents and refuse to have dinner with them, claiming she had eaten already.

When she died in November last year she had been discharged from an inpatient clinic only a few days before. She weighed 6st and had a seriously weakened heart, an inquest heard.

Despite her illness, Charlotte was one of the best students at her school, the Shuttleworth College in Padiham, Lancashire.

Her family, from Padiham, urged other parents to watch for early signs, such as disappearing after meals. 

Her mother, Corinne, 48, said: ‘They’re very good at hiding it. At the start you just go along with it because you don’t want to upset them.’ 

Charlotte’s father Stephen, also 48, said: ‘It was such a shock.’

‘If someone is admitted to hospital they are obviously very seriously ill. What it does show is that more needs to be done earlier – GPs need to be up to speed.

She added: ‘That such a large percentage of young people need hospital treatment is of concern.’

The figures also show 47 children aged five to nine and 13 under-fives were admitted to hospital with an eating disorder. But some experts say data involving very young children is misleading. They point out hospital staff may classify a child as having an eating disorder when they have in fact lost weight due to illness or being very fussy eaters.

Anorexia and bulimia sufferers are often very good at hiding their illness. They skip meals and pretend they have already eaten and may wear dark, baggy clothing to conceal their weight loss.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the Health and Social Care Information Centre, said the  rise in child admissions last year was ‘relatively small but nevertheless significant’.


 
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It doesnt help when the dm publish daily articles of a celeb who dared to eat something and they get labelled fat with a cruel headline. People are so quick to criticise they forget people actually have feelings and can be upset by what others pass off as just a comment.

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Here we go again, like autism, dyslexia and all the other childrens problems that have mushroomed of late,. there may be genuine cases of all these ailments around but if there is not someas yet unknown chemical reason for the surge in recent years, the complaints seem instead to have become a stock excuse for poor parenting, (including those in loco parentis such as teachers) and a job creation scheme for the pediatrics industry! Anybody want to bet that "Big Pharma" will not come up eventually with pill or potion for this one too?

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This is more about parenting than health. Parents are so quick to make a small issue into a need for professional help, if only they would sit down with their children and pay attention to them. If you send the kid away to be fixed, they come home to the same environment that created the problem.

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Children as small as 5 can only get the idea of that disorder from grown ups! don't eat sweets you'll get fat! soda makes you fat, go outside and run around or you'll be fat, see comes from the adults the child comes into contact with.

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Well.............. WHO is it that keeps sending out letters saying children are obese when they are evidently NOT........? THAT is where the blame lies.

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Sign of times: stressful jobs that leave parents with next to no spare time for kids, high divorce rates, obsession with celebrity and image pressure are all the things that add to individual insecurities and personalities. Very sad.

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This is partially the result of catty magazine and newspapers, DM included, who choose to fill their pages commenting on the weight gains or losses of every celebrity and non-celebrity in sight, making children think that being size zero is the norm and allowing others to bully peers on appearance alone. You only have to look at the whole content of the Femail and TV& Showbiz section to realise that body image makes up 75% of the 'news' here. I am all for healthy living and maintaining a healthy body weight, but with the glamourisation of some of the stick thin models and celebs seen on these pages, is it any wonder that children feel constantly under pressure to look good? Please, let's see some responsible journalism for once.

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Young children see adults go on and on about dieting and how much weight they have to lose/are losing, they have it rammed down their throats that this is bad for you and that is bad for you. Adverts about dieting and ways of losing weight are on the telly every five minutes. It is on posters when you go out, its on the radio, it in magazines which children are bound to see if they are left lying around. Schools go on about healthy eating and what you are and are not allowed in your lunchbox etc. etc. It's not very surprising is it !!!!!!!!!

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Since early 70s' and page 3..nubile slim pretty young women have been used to sell. From Reveille to Tit Bits, to the motor shows back then, where scantily clad models were used to sell cars..to the pubs where cards of nuts revealed with each purchase a perfect looking YOUNG woman. To the garages and factories and offices where Pirelli calendars adorned the walls..leading to the earlier and earlier sexaualistaion of young girls. When Page 3 came out I can remember my mum and I arguing fiercely to the males...how would you like it if you had to look at virile young men everywhere you went with their genitalia..from the breakfast table to work, to buying a pack of nuts..no pun intended. It wouldn't have happened. We talk about Jimmy Saville who was surrounded by Pan's People dancing around to supply eye candy. It was and still is a world where images of naked young perfect women were and are used to sell products and nowclothes of a sexual slant creep in to shops for young girls

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And yet DM, i look to the right of the screen and there are 3 sub articles in which women's weight or body shape is the main focus of the headline. Let women like Lady Gaga and Kelly Clarkson be embraced for their talent! SO WHAT if they're put on weight! Lady Gaga was too thin anyway! I hope more female superstars follow suit so a healthy body weight is what these poor young girls aspire to.

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