Capital girls suffer from anorexia at age of nine

GIRLS as young as nine are developing anorexia, as the number of patients being treated in Lothian hospitals for eating disorders soars, doctors warned today.

Ultra-thin "size zero" celebrities and catwalk models are being blamed for fuelling rising problems among young girls in the Capital.

Some are being treated in hospital by the age of 11, but doctors say these girls are so ill they must have been anorexic for up to two years.

The total number of girls and women suffering such severe eating disorders that they have to be admitted to hospital has almost trebled in the Lothians since 1999.

Newly released figures show 49 girls and young women were treated at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the Western General or St John's Hospital in Livingston for eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia.

Those severe cases are thought to be the tip of the iceberg, with an estimated 400 also being treated by their GPs, and many more going undiagnosed.

The average age of the girls diagnosed with anorexia nervosa in the Lothians is 14.

Research suggests one in five sufferers will die, while only a third will make a complete recovery.

Experts say the problem is rising sharply, even though better diagnosis is thought to be one of the reasons for the increase.

Some of the worst cases are referred to the independent Huntercombe Hospital, in Uphall, West Lothian.

There, manager Diane Whiteoak said: "We take patients as young as 11 but for patients to come to us, they have already failed to get support from their GP or local psychiatric service.

"Although they will come here as young as 11, they will have had an eating disorder for a year or two before that."

The younger a girl is when she is referred to the clinic the greater her chances of a complete recovery, added Ms Whiteoak.

Eating disorders are a way of coping with day-today stress and a third of women treated for their problems would experience a relapse when under pressure, she said. Mark Reilly, the Scottish regional co-ordinator of the Eating Disorders Association, said: "The age of girls affected with eating disorders is coming down and down.

"On the one hand, it's great that they know where to come for support but it's worrying that kids as young as eight are experiencing these problems.

"There are some themes for these youngsters in that they have been bullied or abused, but they are also getting mixed messages from the media who are depicting models and celebrities that are so thin."

NHS Lothian today said that a new consultant psychiatrist would be employed within the next few months to co-ordinate services for patients suffering from eating disorders.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Katharine Logan added: "As services offered by NHS Lothian develop, then so does the likelihood of meeting previously un-addressed need.

"Our services have seen a 30 per cent increase in referrals over the past two years, and we are also seeing more patients presenting at a very low weight."

'No help until they are at death's door'

SERVICES for patients with eating disorders were put under the spotlight after the Scottish Ombudsman ruled anorexia sufferer Lindsay Weddell was failed by the system.

Miss Weddell, of Currie, whose problems began after being bullied at school, died aged 20 after being shunted around nine hospitals in Scotland and England. After the case, an NHS watchdog ordered health boards to improve communication between staff, patients and families.

Miss Weddell's mother, Louise, today said she was not surprised by the increase in eating disorders. She said: "The reason people are ending up in hospital is that there is no care for them in the community and they are getting into such a severe state because there is nowhere else for them to go. They are at death's door before they are getting access to any help."

'I lived on pieces of carrot'

IT is eight months since exercise fanatic Christine* was admitted to the private Huntercombe Hospital in West Lothian.

The teenager was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa when she was 13 years old but she believes her problems were triggered at the age of nine by the sudden death of her sister.

Christine's weight has at times plummeted to just five-and-a-half stone and her daily diet has consisted of just a few pieces of carrot or turnip.

At the same time, the 18-year-old also developed an obsession with exercise and would routinely blackout as she completed a gruelling regime of 10,000 sit-ups and seven-mile walks.

She was referred to the private hospital when her parents pleaded with the local health authority after Christine became so weak she struggled to stand.

The keen musician now remains at the hospital five days a week and is faced with six meals a day as part of an extensive programme of therapy.

She said: "I have an extreme fear of food and gaining weight but when I first started cutting out food it was just like being on a diet.

"When I started losing weight, it was like a drug in that it makes you feel so good that you just keep doing it.

"Before I knew it I was cutting more and more things out and living off a couple of vegetables and zero calories.

"It doesn't help when being thin is advertised as a good thing and many catwalk models would not look out of place here."

She added: "It sounds corny, but now I just want to be able to maintain a healthy weight, have a simple job and be happy.

"If I could stay out of hospital, that would be incredible."

*Christine is not her real name.