Charity warns of increasing anorexia in children

Tuesday, 17 June 2003 12:00 AM

The charity ChildLine has warned that greater attention needs to be paid to eating disorders among children.

It has published a report which shows that around 1,000 children and teenagers ring the helpline each year with concerns about eating disorders.

It is estimated that over a million people in the UK suffer from eating disorders and anecdotal evidence suggests that the problem is getting worse among children and adolescents.

ChildLine has found that family tensions are the primary reason given by callers to explain the condition. Bullying, bereavement and school pressures have also been raised as motivating forces.

Chief executive of ChildLine Carole Easton told the BBC that the cycle of denial and deceit, and frequently withdrawn and angry behaviour of a young person with an eating disorder, can almost seem designed to drive away those who care about them, leaving parents and friends utterly bewildered and at a loss as to how to move forward.

'Although there is no single solution to the tortuous situation an eating disorder can provoke, families and friends are the best allies a young person has,' she explained.

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