Anorexia problem is severe with patients aged 5

Children as young as five are being treated in hospital for severe anorexia in a shocking illustration of how early they can become obsessed with body image.A total of 98 youngsters aged between five and seven have been admitted during the last three years because of eating disorders normally associated with teenagers and adults.A further 99 aged eight and nine were admitted over the same period, as were almost 400 aged between ten and 12, and 1,500 between 13 and 15. The number of under-nines needing hospital treatment has doubled in the past year.And these represent only the most severe cases, where children have become so desperately underweight that their lives are in danger. There are likely to be many more youngsters with milder eating disorders who have not been taken to hospital.The statistics, released by NHS trusts around Britain under the Freedom of Information Act, underline the worry that youngsters — particularly girls — are increasingly obsessed with being thin.Many idolise ultra-slim models and celebrities they see in magazines and on television, and try to slim in the hope they will look similar.Senior doctors and nutritionists warn that very young children are developing an "unhealthy relationship" with food.Girls in particular often compare themselves to their friends and in some cases will even compete to see who can lose the most weight.Experts warn that girls are now beginning to compare themselves with ‘size zero' models and celebrities when they are still at primary school. Susan Ringwood, chief executive of the eating disorders charity Beat, said some are so frightened of developing curves when they reach puberty that they starve themselves to try to keep their slender child-like figures.She said: "Girls see the pictures in magazines of extremely thin women and think that is how they should be. That can leave them fearful of puberty, and almost trying to stave it off."A recent survey by the YMCA suggested that nearly half of girls had been on a diet before their 14th birthday. Nearly one in seven would consider taking slimming pills and one in 20 would take laxatives, according to the poll of more than 800 youngsters.Rosi Prescott, chief executive of the YMCA, said: "As a society we are far more obsessed with body image compared with 20 years ago. Young people are trying to make themselves look as appealing as possible and they are looking up to these celebrities and models as references, even though many are not real because they have been airbrushed." From / Gulf News