The number of children requiring hospital treatment for eating disorders is increasing significantly, reports Breaking News.
New data from the Health Research Board reveals that hospital admissions involving under-18s have doubled over a six-year span.
Between 2018 and 2022, more than 1,500 children were hospitalised due to eating disorders.
The figures rose from 170 admissions in the first year to 375 in the final year, reaching a peak of 538 cases during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021, reports Breaking News.
Dr Kielty Oberlin, a specialist in eating disorder recovery, said she was not surprised by the data.
Speaking to Newstalk, Oberlin said: “In a way it’s a relief, here are the numnbers to validate what, on a clinical level I’m experiencing,” she said, reports Breaking News.
“People are desperate. They’re looking for help, and the resources just aren’t out there,” reports Breaking News.
Anorexia accounted for the vast majority of eating disorder diagnoses among children in psychiatric hospitals, representing 91 per cent of the 370 cases recorded.
The vast majority of acute hospital admissions were female, with an average age of approximately 13 years old, reports Breaking News.
In psychiatric care settings, girls made up 95 per cent of cases, and the average age was slightly over 15.
Harriet Parson, chief executive of Bodywhys, said that men and boys often face more barriers to accessing help.
“You can see it in our figures than 10 per cent of people with an eating disorder are male. In actual fact the figure is more like 25 per cent,” she said, reports Breaking News.
“Those figures are not the same when we look at the admission figures or people contacting services. So that means, asbolutely, for men with eating disorders, they’re still unrecognised,” reports Breaking News.
In total, over 6,400 children were admitted to hospital for mental or behavioural health issues, with eating disorders accounting for just under a quarter of these cases, reports Breaking News.
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