grundle

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1797

Size zero epidemic as hospitals struggle to cope with huge rise in patients with eating disorders

By ANDREW LEVY

7th January 2008




The number of patients needing hospital treatment for eating disorders has soared, it has emerged.

The findings are sure to renew concerns about the effect "size zero" models and celebrities are having on the body image of many youngsters.

Official statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics, which records data on Health Service wards, show eating disorders have become so widespread they are putting serious pressure on the number of beds available to other patients.

Last year, 84,377 bed days were taken up by those suffering from eating disorders - the equivalent to about 232 beds a day - up from 51,878 in 2002.

Some 1,484 patients with anorexia were admitted to wards in 2006/7 compared with 1,338 the previous year, an increase of 11 per cent.

While the average age of sufferers was 24, under-15s made up a fifth of the total, 25 per cent more than 2005/6.

The findings also reveal that NHS hospital admissions for bulimia increased 9 per cent to 150.

Experts believe the true figures are likely to be much higher, however, because they do not include those patients who have not sought medical treatment.

A spokesman for Beat, an eating disorder charity that has seen a 25 per cent increase in calls in the past year, said: "These people are very vulnerable and the size zero images are certainly a contributory factor.

"We are delighted the data is being seen so we can begin to see the extent of the problem but we know it doesn't cover the whole picture."

Last year the Government announced it had given a multimillion-pound grant to the Institute of Psychiatry to research eating disorders after it emerged there had been a 40 per cent surge in anorexia since 1990.

A report by the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit, also released last year, found 206 children under 13 had been suffering from eating disorders in a 13-month period to April 2006. One was just eight years old.

The HES statistics also show a worrying rise in the number of men suffering from eating disorders. Last year, 137 needed treatment for anorexia, up from 83 in 2002/3.

In the past two years, 42 men were admitted to hospitals for bulimia, more than three times the number between 2002 and 2005.

To combat the problem, London Fashion Week was urged last year to consider forcing models to present medical certificates to prove they did not have eating disorders.

The idea was among 14 nonbinding suggestions in the Model Health Inquiry report.

The investigation was launched after concerns about the use of "size zero" women - the equivalent of a UK size four - and the deaths of two South American models.

devilshalo

That model looks nothing like Jonny Quest...

Sandy Duncan on the other hand....

grundle

Well, I guess we can agree to disagree on that.

I love your signature, though. "A pint of stout. I would like a pint of stout."

Numanoid

I'll see your Sandy Duncan and raise you a Cathy Rigby:

Joe Molotov

That's nasty. Give me a woman with some meat on her bones!

Dr. Henry Jones, Jr.

I'll need to see a wikipedia article about this

NotThatGuy

It is a growing (no pun intended) problem. What is really sad is that many people can't seek treatment, or the right kind of treatment, because of insurance coverage and/or cost. Intensive out-patient can run $5k-$10k+ a month, and in-patient can be $20k-$35k+/month. With treatment times and relapse rates being what they are, it is an expensive endeavor....oh, and it has the highest mortality rate out of any psychiatric disorder.

-p

movieguru

Sandan Duncan looks more like PeterPan to me.

Vibiana

C'mere.

mllefoo

Can't isn't the right word. Many of these people won't seek treatment. There are actually groups out there who anthropomorphize the eating disorders, calling them "Anna" and "Mia". These people are obsessed, thinking that the bit of skin they can pull away from their bones is actually fat.

Christ, even Skeletor had meat on his bones. I've seen anorexics that made Auschwitz survivors look overweight.

Minor Threat

NotThatGuy

Welcome to my research.

-p

mllefoo

Maybe some people just weren't meant to add to our genepool.

NotThatGuy

That's pretty harsh, as most of the people suffering with EDs aren't exactly enjoying it.

-p

AGuyNamedMike

Harsh, sure, but look at it from a pure scientist's POV rather than a caregiver's. Anorexia leads to a body shape that doesn't even approach the universally desirable 0.7 waist/hip ratio. Males seeking potential breeding stock should automatically pass these girls by, preventing them from passing on their genes. Of course, once a victim reaches a certain point she stops ovulating, so this scenario is moot.

NotThatGuy

That sounds like the first line of a *HOT* personal ad!!



-p

Giantrobo

Dude, it's not an animal so she has no sympathy. I'd say she's just being pretty consistent and that's why we love her.

mllefoo

I kind of wonder whatever happened to Natural Selection? Honestly, all they have to do is shove a cheeseburger down their throat. If they are unable to eat, maybe they should be unable to live.

It isn't as if eating food is all that difficult. Hell, if you want to make them hungry, just let these anorexic people smoke a couple of joints. I'm sure getting the munchies from smoking Marijuana will go a long way toward curing them of the notion that they shouldn't eat.

Mercury&Solace

I don't mind slim/athletic women, but this whole crack whore, skinny trend thing is garbage. Who the hell wants to fuck Skeletor?

NotThatGuy

*Paging CK*

-p

GoVegan

Poor thing lost all that weight and she's still walking around in her "fat clothing."

crazyronin

Its Auschwitz Chic! I hear its very in this year.

NotThatGuy

This is so misguided, it isn't worth responding to, though I will say this....there are usually medical factors that make your 'response' problematic at best.

-p

mllefoo

Unless you have no mouth, like Keanu Reeves at the beginning of the Matrix, there is no excuse not to eat to live.

Giantrobo

We love her too.