No Thinspiration

A centre of excellence to treat a growing number of patients with eating disorders has been relaunched in Yorkshire as experts warn more young people than ever are in need of specialist care.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Liam Donaldson officially marked the landmark at the Yorkshire Centre for Eating Disorders in Seacroft, Leeds.

The number of inpatient beds at the centre is being increased from 16 to 19 as it deals with an increasing number of referrals of seriously ill patients from across the North of England and further afield, treating as many as 200 people a year.

A link-up with the world-leading service provided at St George’s Hospital in London is also enhancing expertise and leading to new research into problems caused by anorexia nervosa and severe bulimia.
Doctors fear increasing pressures on both sexes are leading to more cases amid evidence one in five young women aged 14-30 now have eating binges, one in 20 have bulimia and one per cent are anorexic. A massive 80 per cent believe they are overweight while even girls as young as nine or 10 view their bodies in disparaging terms.

There are also signs more boys are suffering disorders. About 10 per cent of patients treated in Leeds are male.

Most patients have underlying problems which lead to eating disorders as a means of managing their problems rather than an obsessive need to be thin.

Sir Liam said a third centre of excellence was due to open soon in Devon to create a genuine national service which rivalled the private sector in bringing expert help to patients.

He said portrayals of so-called size zero models by the fashion industry did not help but eating disorders were not
straightforward.
“The underlying problems are more complex. We really need to make sure that we get a good research programme in place to understand them better,” he said.

Consultant psychiatrist John Morgan, director of the centre, said real advances had been made in its services.

“We have established ourselves as the largest eating disorders service in the North and real centre of excellence for eating disorders in the UK,” he said.

The most severely ill patients with life-threatening problems are admitted for inpatient care for four to six months. These are usually anorexic patients aged from 17 to those in their fifties with a body-mass index which has fallen to as low as 13 – a healthy level is 20-25. Some patients have been admitted weighing less than three stones.
They are given psychotherapy as well as a range of other treatments and programmes. On returning home they have ideally reached a normal weight and continue to receive help.

Others attend outpatient appointments while there is also an intensive day-case programme.

He said eating disorders were not “glamorous” conditions and took a heavy toll on the minds and bodies of patients. Triggers are complex but range from traumatic events to simply reaching puberty.

Via: Yorkshire Post News