Eating disorders double in less than a decade – experts warn Just a few minutes of scrolling on TikTok increases risk of these conditions

Damning new figures show the number of eating disorders in children has doubled in less than a decade.

Last school year in England, more than 10,600 children were waiting to start their treatment.

This is more than 5,000 more than in 2016/2017, when 5,240 children were left in line, with some even experiencing delays of more than a year.

Experts today called the figures “shocking” and warned that early intervention to prevent children developing eating disorders should be the government’s “absolute focus”.

Another study this month found that watching just 10 minutes of videos on TikTok can have a negative effect on a woman’s body image.

New figures from the House of Commons Library, obtained by the Lib Dems under the Freedom of Information Act, show that 12 per cent of children now have to wait more than three months for an appointment.

Three years ago this was only one percent.

NHS guidelines set Children should not wait longer than four weeks for the start of treatment and no longer than one week after an emergency referral.

However, the longest a patient spent on the waiting list at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust was 378 days, the data shows.

This figure stood at 174 days at Cornwall Partnership Foundation NHS Trust. By comparison, the longest wait in 2019 was 66 days and in 2022 it will be 249 days.

So far this year, children in some hospitals have had to wait 175 days for treatment after being assessed and diagnosed.

Previous research has shown that girls are four times more likely to have an eating disorder than boys.

The figures reflect the worsening situation in mental health in general, with waiting lists increasing since the pandemic as more children seek help.

Wera Hobhouse, MP for the Liberal Democrats and chair of the Eating Disorders Parliamentary Group, said The Times: ‘Too many young people suffering from an eating disorder do not get help until their eating disorder is so severe that they need to be admitted to hospital. After that, recovery can take years.

‘Early intervention must be our absolute focus to address this misery.

‘Not just to prevent unbearable suffering, but to free up resources in the NHS by keeping people out of hospital and giving them stable lives in communities where they can thrive.’

She added: ‘That’s why we want to make sure that every child has someone they can turn to for help with their mental health. We can do that by introducing a specialist mental health professional into every school and setting up drop-in mental health centres in every community.

‘By intervening early, we can ensure that children receive the support they deserve before it is too late.’

Suzanne Baker, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Faculty of Eating Disorders, also said: ‘These figures sadly reflect what we have been hearing on a daily basis for some time.

‘Families are crying out for support while access to treatment is so desperately problematic.

‘Eating disorders are treatable diseases, with early intervention and evidence-based treatment key to good outcomes.

‘However, these figures show the shocking reality that the risk of chronic diseases increases in the long term.

‘It is indescribable how much grief it means to the entire family when such a sick child receives little or no medical care.’

Experts have also repeatedly raised concerns about the The impressionable minds of children are easily influenced by societal trends.

Much of the increase was also seen during the Covid pandemic, with commentators suggesting that isolation due to lockdowns and increased online social interaction could have led to introspection or doubt in children.

Earlier this month, Australian researchers found that watching even 10 minutes of videos on TikTok can have a negative effect on a woman’s body image.

Experts from Charles Sturt University in New South Wales surveyed 273 women aged 18 to 28 about their body image and beauty standards, then divided them into two groups.

The first group watched eight-minute compilations of TikTok videos that glorified eating disorders, among other things, also known as “pro-anorexia” content.

The other eight-minute compilation contained videos about nature, cooking and comedy.

Although both groups later reported a decrease in body image satisfaction, the greatest decrease was seen among those exposed to pro-anorexia content.

Writing in the diary Plos OneThe researchers warned that young women exposed to pro-anorexia content on TikTok may be at greater risk of developing an eating disorder.

In 2023, TikTok was warned that it was not acting quickly enough to tighten its content policies after an investigation found that TikTok’s recommendation algorithm promoted content about self-harm and eating disorders within minutes of teens expressing interest in the topics.

It comes after the NHS’s mental health chief warned last month that young women are consuming too many energy drinks instead of food in a bid to lose weight, amid rising rates of eating disorders.

The drinks are often marketed as ‘healthy’ and are even sold in gyms. However, they are low in calories and can also suppress appetite if they contain a lot of caffeine, making them susceptible to ‘abuse’ according to eating disorder experts.

Claire Murdoch, national director for mental health at NHS England, said this week she was “concerned” about the trend, which is reminiscent of the 1990s trend of consuming large amounts of caffeinated Diet Coke instead of eating.

Mrs Murdoch also hit out at drinks companies for marketing their products to young people as “a quick way to lose weight”.