Child eating disorders double in less than a decade - as experts warn just minutes scrolling on TikTok increases risk of the conditions READ MORE: Women are abusing energy drinks to lose weight, experts warn By Emily Stearn, Health Reporter For Mailonline Published: 09:52 BST, 19 August 2024 | Updated: 09:56 BST, 19 August 2024 e-mail View comments Children's eating disorders have doubled in under a decade, damning new figures have shown. More than 10,600 kids in England were waiting to begin treatment in the past school year. This is up more than 5,000 on 2016/2017 when 5,240 children were left in the queue.
Some have even endured delays of more than a year. Experts today labelled the figures 'shocking', warning that early intervention in preventing children developing eating disorders should be the Government's 'absolute focus'. It comes as separate research this month also showed that watching just 10 minutes of videos on TikTok can negatively affect a woman's body image.
More than 10,600 kids in England were waiting to begin treatment in the past school year. This is up more than 5,000 on 2016/2017 when 5,240 children were left in the queue. Some have even endured delays of more than a year The new figures from the House of Commons Library, obtained by the Lib Dems under freedom of information laws, found 12 per cent of children were now waiting more than three months for an appointment.
This was just one per cent three years ago. NHS guidelines state children should wait.