hospitalizations-for-eds-on-the-rise-2

Hospitalizations for EDs on the Rise

Report: Hospitalizations for Eating Disorders Increase in Children

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published “Clinical Report Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents” in November, noting a dramatic increase in hospitalizations for eating disorders in children 12 and under.  Between 1999 and 2006, hospitalizations rose 119 percent.  The AAP also cited significant increases in obesity and in prevalence of eating disorders among minorities and males as other distressing trends of the past decade.   According to a 2010 study, 2.7 percent of 13-18 year olds have a “severe” eating disorder.**

Mental health professionals and medical doctors should be trained for early detection of disordered eating.  But the prevalence of eating disorders at young ages also suggests that parents have a great influence on their children’s eating attitudes and habits.

The following are five ways parents can encourage their young children to live healthy lives and avoid disordered thinking and eating habits:

  1. Model good eating habits – Don’t skip meals or punish yourself for overeating.
  2. Get rid of your scale – The focus should be on wellness, not weight.
  3. Pay attention to the way you talk about food – There are no “bad” foods.
  4. Use appropriate language about weight with yourself and others – No one should be trying to maintain a specific weight.  We should all be trying to live out wellness – eating healthy, exercising regularly and resting.
  5. Affirm your children’s mind, body and soul on a regular basis – Let them know their worth apart from false, idealistic standards of beauty.

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*  A copy of the report can be accessed here: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2010-2821v1

** Merikangas KR, He J, Burstein M, Swanson SA, Avenevoli S, Cui L, Benjet C, Georgiades, Swendsen J. Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents : Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication–Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2010; 49:980-989.