Eating disorders, defined by the negative beliefs and behaviours they cause people to have about themselves and their eating, body shape, and weight (NICE, 2020), can have a number of implications on a person’s physical and mental health, as well as on their development (Schmidt et al, 2016). Whilst the exact cause of eating disorders is not known, it is likely that there are several factors at play, for example a mix of social, biological, and psychological causes (Culbert et al, 2015).
According to the World Health Organisation, in 2019 almost 3 million children and young people, worldwide, experienced eating disorders. The eating disorder charity BEAT estimate that those aged under 20 making up almost half of the people receiving inpatient treatment for an eating disorder in England (BEAT, 2015). Furthermore, shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of children and young people referred to community eating disorders services escalated dramatically, with the number of referrals for children and young people rising to 5,491, two years into the pandemic, in comparison to 2,764 referrals in Spring of 2020 (Nicholls, 2022).
Eating Disorders Awareness Week (27 February – 5 March 2023) is an opportunity to bring a spotlight on eating disorders and to improve awareness of the impact that eating disorder can have, in particular on children and young people.
This Eating Disorder Awareness Week, we encourage you to explore the FREE learning opportunities available on our website, and to share with your networks.
Resources
Topic Guides
Articles
- NEW Blog from Marie Young and Bea Fenske on ‘Eating Disorders and CAMHS – Real Life Insights’
- NEW Blog from Dr. Nora Trompeter and Dr. Tom Jewell on ‘How England’s calorie labelling policy is impacting young people’
- Blog from Clara Faria on ‘Incidence and outcomes of eating disorders during the pandemic: what has changed?’
Podcasts
- NEW Podcast with Dr. Naomi Warne and Dr. Helen Bould on ‘Emotional Dysregulation, Disordered Eating, and Self-harm: Associations and Mediating Pathways’
Lectures, talks, and discussions
- Recorded lecture ‘Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders – what you need to know’ with Dr. Helen Bould, James Downs, Sarah Fuller, Suzanne Baker, Dr. David Ochando, and Dr. Suhair Abbass
- Recorded lecture ‘Type 1 Diabetes and Disordered Eating (T1DE): Recognition and Risk Management’ with Dr. Helen Partridge and Dr. Carla Figueiredo
- Recorded lecture ‘Eating Disorders ‘Ask The Expert’’ with Dr. Dasha Nicholls
- Recorded lecture ‘Autism and Eating Disorders – CAMHS Campfire’ with Dr. Francesca Solmi, Dr. Lisa Dinkler, lived experience perspective from a young person from theMcPin Foundation, information scientist Douglas Badenoch, and Andre Tomlin (@Mental_Elf).
Short films from Nip in the Bud
- 6 minute film ‘Boys get Anorexia too’ with Jenny Langley
- 8 minute film ‘Understanding Eating Disorders’ with Dr. Dasha Nicholls
Open Access papers from ACAMH journals
- JCPP Original Article ‘Emotional dysregulation in childhood and disordered eating and self-harm in adolescence: prospective associations and mediating pathways’. (2022) Naomi Warne et al.
- JCPP Editorial Perspective ‘A perfect storm – how and why eating disorders in young people have thrived in lockdown and what is happening to address it’. (2022) Dasha Nicholls
- JCPP Research Review ‘Neuropsychological functioning in young anorexia nervosa: A meta-analysis’. (2021) Kristin Stedal et al.
- JCPP Original Article ‘Shared familial risk factors between autism spectrum disorder and obesity – a register-based familial coaggregation cohort study’. (2021) Richard Ahlberg et al.
- CAMH Review Paper ‘Digital experiences and their impact on the lives of adolescents with pre-existing anxiety, depression, eating and nonsuicidal self-injury conditions – a systematic review’. (2022) Katarzyna Kostyrka-Allchorne et al.
- CAMH Original Article ‘Differences in body mass index trajectories of adolescent psychiatric inpatients by sex, age, diagnosis and medication: an exploratory longitudinal, mixed effects analysis’. (2022) Justine Anthony et al.
- JCPP Advances Original Article ‘Anorexia nervosa and inflammatory bowel diseases—Diagnostic and genetic associations’. (2021) Janne Tidselbak Larsen et al.
- JCPP Advances Original Article ‘Early neurodevelopmental problems and risk for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in 4-7-year-old children: A Japanese birth cohort study’. (2022) Lisa Dinkler et al.
