Last Updated on April 1, 2019
“One in ten teenage girls has an eating disorder and boys as young as ten are also at risk” reports The Daily Mail newspaper, which continues to reveal more alarming anorexia statistics.
Experts blame the pressure that young children face to look perfect as the main culprit.
Experts warned that the increasing number of pressure placed upon the young child today to be perfect and to look perfect was so severe that it threatened the mental health of an entire generation.
Doctors for the first time tried to gain an understanding of the number of young children affected by eating disorders and they recorded their findings after measuring the numbers seeking support in their surgeries.
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“1 in 500 girls aged 15 to 19 are likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder every year”
While most would assume that eating disorders affect mainly girls and of the teenage age, the doctor’s findings revealed that the highest rates of eating disorder cases were among girls aged 15 to 19 and boys aged ten to 14.
“Boys aged as young as 10 were reported to be suffering from an eating disorder”
The results showed that while the reported cases of anorexia and bulimia had remained fairly constant, there was a significant increase seen in binge eating.
Bulimia and other eating disorders account for about 38 percent each of new cases, while anorexia accounts for one in four cases the report stated.
Anorexia statistics are just a tip of the iceberg, only those who asked for help are accounted for, how many suffer in silence and receive no support?
B-eat estimate that 1.6 million people in the UK suffer from diagnosed or undiagnosed eating disorders.
Anorexia impacts upon 1 in every 100 women between the ages of 15 and 30 and it is estimated that 30% of sufferers experience long term illness and lasting physical effects.
Hospital admissions for eating disorders rose by 16% in England from 2011 to 2012, official figures show.
While anorexia remains a taboo subject and not something often spoke about, more and more people are becoming severely ill with an eating disorder around us.
Anorexia statistics are alarming and continue to climb higher.
Media and anorexia often come hand in hand, mainly focusing on the negative aspects of this illness and while the experts are quick to blame the “Thinspo” pressure of the media and society, there are often far more complex causes and reasons behind an eating disorder.
Eating disorders are not lifestyle choices, they are mental disorders that if left untreated can cause serious health problems or could even be life-threatening.
What started as a coping technique, a way for me to personally have some form of control over my life turned into a major problem? I didn’t choose to starve myself, it just happened and now I am afraid it’s taking over my life.
I am now facing a long battle ahead of me to overcome my own eating disorder and the anorexia statistics far from surprises me.
I was one of those people who assumed that eating disorders happened to “other people” and never to someone like me until I found myself stuck in a cycle of starving myself and being fearful of eating.
Anorexia Statistics (UK)
Beat:
Approximately 11 people in 100,000 develop anorexia nervosa each year.
Mind:
In the UK, 1 in 100 women aged between 15 and 30, suffers from anorexia.
I have known for years that I have a problem with eating. It’s always been a well-hidden secret yet I have recently spoken out. I do have an eating disorder and while 1 GP suspected anorexia another suspected it was a form of self-harm.
Anorexia should not be a taboo, it should be out there in the spotlight as so many fall victims to an eating disorder and like me many are mums.
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Having an eating disorder or come to think of it any mental health issue does not make you a bad mother.
I am bipolar and like every other mother in the world have an issue or in my case a few, that hangs over my shoulder like a bad smell.
Striving to be the best mother I can be under the circumstances is what gives me the strength to fight my illness when things get hard.
Are you surprised by the anorexia statistics?