Eating Disorders Increase Among Children

It seems to be a problem with the extremes when it comes to eating in the U.S. At the same time that two-thirds of the U.S. population is overweight (including 17 percent of children), a new study reports that cases of anorexia and bulimia are also up among children 12 years of age or younger.

It may seem like a rather trivial number at face value, but the medical community does not look away from new stats that reveal 0.5 percent of adolescent American girls have anorexia, and one to two percent have bulimia. These numbers are quite large considering the number of youth in America.

The updated statistics were reported this week by the American Academy of Pediatrics, in the journal Pediatrics. The authors compiled information from 200 recent studies on childhood eating disorders. The new report calls for the increased awareness and diagnoses of eating disorders on the part of pediatricians.

Among the most important findings of the report were that males and minority populations in the United States are experiencing a noticeable increase in eating disorders. Also, countries with a relatively low percentage of childhood eating disorders are now seeing a marked increase.

Male children now account for as much as 10 percent of diagnosed eating disorders in the U.S. Also, a previous report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found an increase of 119 percent in children who were hospitalized for eating disorders between 1999 and 2006.

The report said that pediatricians who suspect an eating disorder in children should insist on blood tests and/or bone density tests that can diagnose an improper diet. Blood tests can quickly call attention to unsafe or unsatisfactory levels of glucose, calcium, and magnesium, as well as liver enzymes.

Although doctors need to be more cognizant of the prevalence of eating disorders, the report said, the medical community’s approach to confronting needful patients must be carefully examined.

This is because doctors who tell their overweight/obese childhood patients to lose some weight may trigger a slingshot effect in which children attempt to lose too much weight.

It sounds like regular check-ups would help to identify extreme dietary changes and correct them before they become harmful.

The report also found that “partial-syndrome” eating disorders are also on the rise. This phenomenon is found among young people who have some, but not all, of the symptoms of an eating disorder.

People who exhibit these symptoms are more likely to eventually acquire full-blown cases of bulimia, anorexia and other disorders.