Children from all walks of life develop eating disorders more commonly than before

The Royal Free hospital treats teenagers and others with eating disorders and has discovered a big increase in people with these syndromes seeking treatment.  More diverse backgrounds make up the numbers rather than the typical “middle class perfectionist girl”.

Samantha Swinglehurst, (MBE) the trust’s top nurse said “In 2011 we had one or two referrals a week.  Now we get between 6 and 11 families”. They are so inundated with referrals they need new premises.

Young patients have launched an interactive Twitter campaign to alert people to eating disorder problems.  Using the hashtag #FREEbutterfly they posted images of butterflies painted on their hands and saw their message reach two million people.

Depression and OCD issues are also connected to eating disorders in association with autistic spectrum disorder.  All races, colours and creeds plus family structures are affected by this syndrome.  It can be a life threatening illness and take years to recover from.

Typically patients are aged 13 or 14 but some as young as 10 can have a disorder. Pressure to do well in school, be like their parents or indeed like their idols are all indicative around these problems.

Story by Penny Nair Price