The Huntercombe Health Care Groups Calls For Greater Understanding And Earlier Diagnosis Of Eating Disorders

Main Category: Eating Disorders
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 06 Apr 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Lack of understanding of the nature of eating disorders as medical conditions, combined with late diagnosis and treatment, is putting sufferers at increased health risk. This was one of the themes that emerged from the world's largest conference on eating disorders in London this week.

The Huntercombe Group, co-sponsors of the conference and joint funder of research unveiled which indicates eating disorders are linked to abnormalities in the brain function, treats hundreds of sufferers a year, many of whom are referred to them in a critical condition. Huntercombe are calling for higher levels of awareness and earlier diagnosis of eating disorders, particularly in younger adolescents and children. Dr Mark Tattersall, Medical Director at Huntercombe Hospital Maidenhead, commented:

"Girls as young as 12 are being admitted to Huntercombe Hospitals in a severely emaciated and life threatening state due to delays in recognising the severity of their condition, or in considering the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa at such a young age. Worryingly, children as young as eight years old are developing anorexia nervosa. Recognising the early signs of anorexia and promptly providing appropriate treatment would help to prevent the illness becoming as dangerously severe, and reduce the risks of it progressing towards a chronic stage."

Experts from 40 countries joined together to reveal new findings and raise awareness of the gaps that currently exist in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders. The pattern that emerged from the conference was a greater need for: effective prevention strategies, earlier diagnosis, more widely available intensive outpatient treatment as an alternative to inpatient treatment, understanding of which treatment approaches work best for particular eating disorders and at different ages, and additional funding for specialist staff training.

The Huntercombe Hospitals eating disorder units have a high success rate in treating patients with severe eating disorders, but it can take five years or more for a patient who has recovered healthy weight after commencing treatment from an advanced stage of the illness to be fully cured. Although new findings could lead to various new treatments for eating disorders in the future, they are likely to remain challenging to treat once entrenched, and greater attention should paid to recognising the early signs of anorexia nervosa and providing treatment before the illness reaches a more serious stage.

The full scale of the problem is not recorded or recognised in the UK. Because hospital admission figures are relied on to estimate the number of individuals with anorexia nervosa in the UK, and there are still no official records of how many people in the community suffer from an eating disorder, the number of eating disorder sufferers is often underestimated. However, current knowledge suggests that over 2% of young women in the UK suffer from a significant eating disorder.

The leading eating disorder charity BEAT also widely reports new NHS figures showing that over the past decade the number of girls aged under 16's sent to hospital suffering from anorexia nervosa has almost doubled. More worryingly, the number of 12-year-olds having hospital treatment for a variety of eating disorders has risen by the same amount.

When it comes to treating eating disorders, hospitalisation only happens once the condition has seriously affected the sufferer's health. Earlier diagnosis could prevent eating disorders from becoming a chronic illness requiring specialist treatment and in some cases death.

About The Huntercombe Group

The Huntercombe Group provides treatment for eating disorders in specialist hospitals in Maidenhead, Stafford and Edinburgh.

The Huntercombe Group provides wide-ranging professional treatment in the areas of Mental Health, Acquired Brain Injury and Neuro-disabilities, Eating Disorders, Addiction, Learning Disabilities and Children with Special Needs. The overall ethos of the group is to provide creative solutions for complex needs whilst delivering the highest quality of professional and personal care for rehabilitation, recovery and therapy. The company's ethos is to ensure that individuals entrusted to its care are placed in services that are appropriate to their needs, will improve their quality of life and wherever possible, rehabilitate them back into the community.

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The Huntercombe Group