A May 25 article by Nick Owens of the British news website mirror.co.uk indicates a dramatic increase in the number of British youth who are suffering from eating disorders.

Owens reported a 47-percent increase in the number of girls under 18 who are suffering from anorexia and bulimia, and a 25-percent increase in girls under the age of nine who are being treated for these disorders:

The new figures also show the number of women needing hospital treatment has risen by 25 percent to 1,740 compared with 1,398 in 2004. The number of men being treated for eating disorders has also gone up, rising to 226 last year from 183 in 2004.

Health experts blame the increasing pressure on young people to stay thin for the rising number of anorexia and bulimia cases. In a recent poll of 3,000 teenagers, 75 percent said they felt they needed to lose weight after looking at pictures of skinny stars such as Kate Moss and Nicole Richie.

Susan Ringwood, chief executive of eating disorder charity Beat, said, "We are very concerned by these figures. We have heard of cases of people being told by doctors 'wait and see and come back later'. And these people get very, very ill before they get any help."

If you or someone you love is suffering from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or a related eating disorder, a residential eating disorder treatment program such as Montecatini may have the answers you are looking for.

Labels: eating disorders

Posted By: Aspen/CRC