Eating disorders - hitting early and hard

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMar 30 2011

Australia

Children as young as seven have been admitted to hospitals for eating disorders. A peak support group has reported a doubling of calls about children under the age of 12 in the past decade. Being hit so early with these disorders also means malnutrition leading to retarded growth, osteoporosis, infertility and changes in brain structure say experts.

According to Eating Disorders Victoria, children aged seven, eight and nine had been admitted to hospital for treatment, including psychological care and help to gain weight. Executive officer Kirsty Greenwood said eating disorders in children were rare, but there was rising concern that anorexia sufferers were getting younger. “Concerns about body image, and dieting behaviours, are presenting young and younger…It would have been unheard of 10 years ago to see a child aged seven with an eating disorder,” she said. Eating disorders in children could be under-diagnosed because there wasn't enough research she added.

In Sydney, the Children's Hospital at Westmead revealed that its eating disorders clinic, which caters for ages seven to 17, has experienced a 270 per cent increase in admissions since 2000. Experts say children are being bombarded with messages about looking good. A dieting culture and over-emphasis on the “obesity epidemic” has also led to an unhealthy fixation on weight instead of being healthy. Eating Disorders Victoria last year fielded 79 calls for advice on children under 12 with potential eating disorders, about double the 2001 figures. This compares to 576 adolescents and just under 2000 adults. The Butterfly Foundation CEO Christine Morgan added that early-onset eating disorders were complicated.

America

More than 10 million Americans suffer from some kind of eating disorder, and many of them are not white, young or female, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Dr. Wendy Oliver-Pyatt, executive director of the Oliver-Pyatt Centers in Florida, said that, at any given time, at least half of her patients are not what society typically thinks of someone having an eating disorder: people older than 40, mothers, men and minorities. “Minorities, men and older people have an even more difficult time,” said Oliver-Pyatt, speaking on behalf of the National Eating Disorders Association. “It's almost culturally accepted for a young white woman to have an eating disorder.”

Oliver-Pyatt said that many older female patients who come to her clinic actually did not fully recover from an eating disorder in their early years. More than 1 million men and boys battle eating disorders every day, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. And, many doctors argue, the stigma for a man is worse than that of teenage girl. In America although the average age of onset is 14, girls are being diagnosed as young as 8.

Although children are influenced everyday by many external factors, parents can play an important role in the prevention of eating disorders. Healthy, balanced eating should be modelled in the home. Exercise should be done for fun and health, not weight loss. Parents who are always on a diet, obsessed with calories and fat grams, constantly weighing themselves and focusing on clothing sizes, will encourage similar behaviours in their children say experts.