Eating disorders: Guidance is issued to doctors after 84% rise in past five years

New guidelines to help doctors spot the signs that someone with an eating disorder is dangerously ill have been issued after an “alarming” rise in hospital admissions for illnesses such as anorexia nervosa.1

An analysis of hospital data by the Royal College of Psychiatrists showed that hospital admissions for eating disorders had increased by 84% in the past five years, reaching a total of 24 268 admissions. Some 11 049 more admissions were recorded in 2020-21 than in 2015-16.

The number of young people with eating disorders rose by 90% in …