Rates of anorexia on the rise among children in the UK and Ireland

A recent study published in the journal BMJ Open finds there has been an increase in the number of children aged 8-12 diagnosed with anorexia. The report found that roughly 3.2 children per 100,000 were thought to have an eating disorder across the UK and Ireland, compared to just 1.5 to 2.1 distinguishable cases in 2006. Findings were based on research with child and adolescent psychologists, who were asked to recount the number of anorexia cases they investigated between February and September 2015. A questionnaire was used when potential cases emerged. Sarah Byford, co-author of the study and Professor of Health Economics at King’s College London, says factors stemming from early childhood – such as anxiety over diet or academic performance – can trigger a vulnerable individual into developing an eating disorder. However, she notes that the rise in these type of cases might be due more to a heightened awareness of the subject matter: “[It] might simply be that we are getting better at identifying young people [with anorexia].” More can be read here.