Anorexia on the rise among young girls under 14; Little help available

Anorexia is increasing among young girls aged 10 to 14, but their parents often have nowhere to go to get them help. Many clinics that treat eating disorders don’t treat young children, believing they benefit more from at-home care. But municipalities are often unable to provide that care, Pointer reported.

In recent decades, care providers have signaled a significant increase in girls between the ages of 10 and 14 who develop anorexia, while other age groups saw no increase. It is not new that the eating disorder mainly affects girls and women, but the increase among primary school-aged children is a worrying development.

According to psychiatrist Annelies van Eeden, social media plays a role in this. People with anorexia typically consider themselves too fat and then start dieting to a dangerous extent. Social media platforms don’t cause this per se, but a constant stream of perfect, photoshopped bodies can stimulate the disease in someone who is dissatisfied with their body. “You are more sensitive to this at a young age,” Van Eeden told Pointer. Girls are also starting puberty earlier, which could also play a role in the increase in eating disorders at a young age.

Pointer surveyed 15 eating disorder clinics and found that many of them apply an age limit and don’t treat young children. According to these clinics, young children would be better served with help in their own families rather than getting admitted. The municipality must then provide home help, but that is by no means a done deal, parents told the program.

Anorexia care is very expensive, and that makes it difficult to provide, especially for smaller municipalities, Ramón Lindauer, chairman of the children ‘s branch of the Dutch Association of Psychiatry (NVvP), told Pointer. Three families that need home care for anorexia are enough to cause financial problems for a small municipality, he said.

Earlier this week, parliament voted to change the law to help small municipalities with youth care. But even if that solves the problem, it will come too late for children currently suffering from the disease, Pointer pointed out.

The Pointer episode on this topic will be broadcast on Sunday evening.