'It's about
recognising eating disorders are common and if we want the best outcome
we want people to be picked up early, treated early and treated close
to home, family and their school,' Dr Sloane Madden, eating disorders
unit co-director at Sydney Children's Hospital said.
‘Worryingly, some of these eating disorders are only being discovered when children are rushed to hospital with issues caused by starvation.
’
Dr Madden said looking stronger and fitter is becoming more important at a younger age. However it's not all about looking like sports heroes, but also an increased
focus on health and fitness in society that's leading to the increased
number of cases.
"In
that nine and 10-year-old age group boys want to be fitter [and] want
to be more muscular, so they really cut back on their food and they
exercise in a very compulsive way," he said.
In 2016, 100 children have been checked in to Westmead hospital in Sydney with eating disorders. Of those, around 10 percent are under the age of 12, while four out of five come from metropolitan areas. While anorexia and other eating disorders have long been associated with young girls, that's beginning to change.
'It's not vanity at all, it's genetically based serious psychiatric illness with serious complications.'
Source: Medindia
