Until recently, doctors associated anorexia with teenage, Caucasian girls who succumbed to the pressure to be "perfect". But the increasing diversity of anorexic patients is causing doctors to question its origin.

"Seven years ago 'the idea of seeing a 9- or would have been 10-year-old anorexic would have been shocking and prompted frantic calls to my colleagues. Now we’re seeing kids this age all the time,' [David] Rosen says. There's no single explanation for the declining age of onset, although greater awareness on the part of parents certainly plays a role."

Because the pre-teen and early teen years are a critical growth period for children, anorexia can be especially damaging to a young person's health. Debilitating conditions like low blood pressure, decreased heart function and drops in testosterone or estrogen can affect children within months. Read more at MSNBC.com.

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Labels: anorexia, development, young_girls