CYP Now – Understanding eating disorders

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Eating Disorders latest report, The Right to Health: People with Eating Disorders Being Failed, sheds light on the current situation for those affected by eating disorders, highlighting the challenges many face and recommends how to tackle this growing epidemic.
Eating disorders are often misunderstood as a lifestyle choice affecting only white, affluent, underweight teenage girls. In reality, they are serious mental illnesses caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors that can affect anyone whatever their age, sexuality, body size or ethnicity.
Despite their complexity, eating disorders are fully treatable with a comprehensive approach that is accessible and inclusive to meet individual needs that includes nutritional, medical, and therapeutic support.
In England, an estimated 360,000 children and young people (7.5%) are affected by an eating disorder. However, only 55,000 were identified by GPs in 2020, and just 19,500 accessed NHS specialist services in 2022/23, the vast majority being girls with anorexia nervosa. That year, there were 8,434 hospital admissions for severe cases. The significant gap between prevalence and diagnosis suggests many children and young people, particularly those with less visible or higher-weight disorders or who come from marginalised backgrounds, remain undiagnosed and untreated.
Wera Hobhouse, chair of the APPG on Eating Disorders, says eating disorders services have deteriorated in the past six years. “This detailed report puts together not only what is wrong but gives a very sharp focus on what must change,” she adds.
Through the campaign work I do in schools I come into contact with young people every day who are living with eating disorders, who are at a high risk of developing one and who are struggling with food, exercise and other eating disorder behaviours (see case studies).
Research highlights that repeated exposure to images of lower-weight bodies shifts perceptions of average body size, fostering smaller “ideal” body standards. This disproportionately impacts individuals with genetic and other predisposing risk factors for eating disorders, further exacerbating the problem. Addressing misconceptions and societal pressures in an ever-growing digital world is essential to improve prevention, treatment, and recovery outcomes for those affected by eating disorders.
The APPG on eating disorders wants to ensure that proactive school-based prevention programmes and accessible adolescent services are available for all to address this unmet need. Beyond this, we need to ensure that eating disorders are everyone’s business, that schools are empowered to know how to spot the signs and offer support, as well as how we can empower the next generation to make sure that we don’t let eating disorders continue as the deadly mental illness they are.
CHILD WITH SENSORY ISSUES LABELLED ‘FUSSY EATER’
Michelle is mum to a five-year-old son who has ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder) but because of his age, is unable to get any support apart from a dietician who weighs him. Michelle told the APPG that she had been to the GP multiple times only for her son to be labelled a “fussy eater”.
She said: “He started off with sensory sensitivities to food – he didn’t like anything with lumps, or bumps or strong smells and was very hesitant to touch food especially if it was wet or slimy. As time went on it became incredibly difficult to introduce new foods. He was becoming more restrictive with what he ate and would only have around 10 to 15 different foods that were easy to swallow or melt in the mouth. At my son’s two-year health check his sensory issues and eating difficulties meant he was referred to a paediatrician and a dietitian for investigations. Due to the long wait to see local services our GP agreed to run blood tests which showed he had very low iron levels meaning we had the impossible task of administering medication.”
Eventually, a dietician saw Michelle and her son and mentioned ARFID but due to the lack of support for under-eights she was left with very little support and had her son privately diagnosed.
TEENAGER WITH DISORDER DENIED SPECIALIST SUPPORT
Mollie, aged 17, was recently diagnosed with ARFID but her battle with eating disorders goes back further.
She says: “When I was 11, I was referred to the Berkshire Eating Disorder Service (BEDS) for the first time and was fortunate to be assessed reasonably quickly as my physical health was deteriorating quite rapidly, and in my experience, eating disorder services only seem to be bothered about physical implications of eating disorders. They said they would treat me for anorexia but that I had to gain some weight and follow a meal plan for a period of time until they could offer me any psychological support. Meal times at home became like a war zone and in school I was removed from my friends, having to eat lunch with different teachers alone each day, most of which had no understanding of eating disorders and would just stare at me as I struggled.
Fast forward a few months, I was in and out of hospital for medical consequences from my eating disorder but now had no support as BEDS said I wasn’t co-operating enough.”
The situation deteriorated over the next two years, but she was still deemed not unwell enough for specialised support. Mollie was eventually diagnosed with ARFID by her GP, enabling her to access therapeutic support.
- Hope Virgo is a campaigner and secretary of the APPG on Eating Disorders
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