Covid-19 isolation blamed as number of children with anorexia and bulimia in England soars amid fears for similar rise among adults
Psychiatrists have warned of a “tsunami” of eating disorder patients amid data showing soaring numbers of people experiencing anorexia and bulimia in England during the pandemic.
Dr Agnes Ayton, the chair of the Eating Disorder Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the number of people experiencing problems had risen sharply as conditions such as anorexia thrived in the isolation of lockdown.
She said: “We expect the tsunami [of patients] is still coming. We don’t think it has been and gone.” She also noted that in Oxford, where she works, about 20% of people admitted were usually urgent referrals but this had shot up to 80%.
