The number of children hospitalized with eating disorders has skyrocketed by more than 500 percent in a decade, according to a major study.
The figures show a two-thirds (65 per cent) increase in the number of under-18s receiving treatment in intensive care wards for mental health problems between 2012 and 2022.
Girls aged 11 to 15 experienced the most significant jump, with experts warning of “surprising rates of self-harm.”
But the starkest statistics showed that eating disorder admissions rose from 478 to 2,938 during the same period, an increase of almost 515 percent.
Researchers suggest that a lack of community care is exacerbating the problem, which other studies have linked to social media use.
The team analyzed data on all admissions of children aged five to 18 to acute general medicine wards in England over a ten-year period.
These wards are separate from specialist mental health wards and provide rapid assessment, treatment and care for patients who are usually referred through A&E, their GP or a walk-in clinic.
The analysis found that mental health admissions increased from 24,198 to 39,925, a 65 percent increase compared to a 10 percent increase in all-cause admissions, which increased from 311,067 to 342,511.
The stark statistics showed that admissions for eating disorders increased from 478 to 2,938 between 2012 and 2022, an increase of almost 515 percent (file image)

The jump was greatest among girls aged 11 to 15, more than doubling, from 9,091 to 19,349 (archive image)

Researchers suggest a lack of community care is exacerbating the problem, which other studies have linked to social media use (file image)
The jump was greatest among girls ages 11 to 15, more than doubling, from 9,091 to 19,349.
More than half (53.4 percent) of mental health problems were due to self-harm, according to findings in the journal Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
Dr. Lee Hudson, lead author of the study, said previous research has focused on inpatient mental health and community settings, adding that “a piece of the puzzle was missing.”
She said: “Intensive care wards are important places to care for young people with mental health problems, especially those with co-occurring physical health problems, such as hunger due to an eating disorder.”
‘However, the escalation we describe presents real challenges for acute wards, both for patients and their families and the staff supporting them.
He said many are not prepared or adequately staffed to care for young people who need this help and that more psychiatrists and trained mental health nurses are needed both on wards and in the community.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic had a “profound impact” on young people, they said it was only one factor behind the increase in admissions.
Further research is being carried out by interviewing young people, their families and staff working at the centers about the reasons behind the increase.

Figures show a two-thirds (65 per cent) increase in the number of under-18s receiving treatment in intensive care wards for mental health problems between 2012 and 2022 (file image)

More than half (53.4 percent) of mental health problems were due to self-harm, findings in the journal Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (file image)
Dr Karen Street, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said it was “further evidence of the alarming deterioration in the mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people”.
Nearly one in five children aged 7 to 17 has a probable mental disorder and there has been a marked increase in the complexity and intensity of reported mental health disorders, he said.
He added: “More must be done to uncover and understand the key drivers of this unprecedented rise to truly design a service that works for our young people.”
Tom Quinn, of eating disorder charity Beat, said: “These figures are alarming, but sadly not surprising given the increasing number of children and young people referred to community and hospital services for eating disorders over the same period.” Giving children the earliest possible access to treatment is crucial to giving them the best chance of recovery, but with the NHS so desperately underfunded that it cannot begin to provide this level of care without urgent change.
‘It is essential that frontline staff in intensive care wards, including non-specialists and future doctors, are equipped to recognize and treat the complications of eating disorders. We also want community eating disorder services to receive the funding they desperately need, so that once patients on general practice wards are well enough, they can be placed straight into specialist care with as little disruption to life as possible. of families.
‘We also want to make eating disorders a priority within the Government’s next ten-year health plan, so that people get help before they reach the point of needing medical admission and do not feel unwell enough to receive urgent care.
“Finally, more research is needed to fully understand what is driving the rise in children and young people suffering from eating disorders and, importantly, how this worrying trend can be reversed.”