Anorexia cases on the rise among preteens

A new study has found that cases of anorexia are on the rise among preteen children in the UK and Ireland, with rates having as much as doubled in 10 years.

Following reports of a doubling in hospital admissions for eating disorders in the past six years, the research looked at cases of anorexia diagnosed by psychiatrists in hospitals or specialist clinics, estimating that 3.2 per 100,000 children aged between eight and 12 met criteria for anorexia for the first time in 2015, compared with 1.5 to 2.1 per 100,000 in 2006.

The authors of the study say that those potentially vulnerable to developing an eating disorder may be being exposed to risk factors at an earlier age, including pressure to diet or do well at school. However, on the flip side, the authors claim that the heightened figures could indicate that services and doctors ‘are getting better at identifying young people with anorexia’.

Over the eight-month period of the study, published in the BMJ Open journal, 305 cases were reported that met requirements for the study, with the vast majority in girls and people of white ethnicity.

The results suggest that among children aged eight to 17 years old, there are 13.7 new cases of anorexia per 100,000 people per year. Among girls the estimate was higher, at 25.7 per 100,000, with the age of diagnosis peaking at 15 years old.

Tom Quinn, of the eating disorder charity Beat, said: “Since 2016, substantial extra funding has been made available to the NHS in England for investment in specialist eating disorder services for under 18s, but not all commissioners and providers have prioritised these services sufficiently.”