Eating disorders take bigger bite of hospital resources

Children and teenagers accounted for more than half the total treated for several conditions.

Hospitals recorded 2,290 eating disorder admissions in the year to June – 16 per cent more than the previous 12 months.

Young people aged bettween 10 and

-19 accounted for 55 per cent of admissions, up from 49 per cent the previous year.

Most admissions were for 15-year-old girls, who made up 10 per cent of the total.

Admission numbers were about the national average in Yorkshire, with the highest numbers in the North East and London.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the Health and Social Care Information Centre , based in Leeds and Southport, which published the figures, said: “The data points to a relatively small but nevertheless significant rise in child admissions for the treatment of an eating disorder.”

Nine in 10 admissions were women.

Anorexia accounted for 74 per cent of all admissions and bulimia seven per cent.

The rest were for disorders such as overeating or vomiting, associated with other psychological disturbances, the figures showed.