Early treatment is key to children recovering from eating disorders | Eating disorders

Your article about 45% of primary teachers experiencing eating disorders in primary schools should alarm policy makers, but it will come as no surprise to those of us who work in clinical and rehabilitation services (nearly half of primary teachers in England see pupils with eating disorders, according to a 31 March survey).

Children show signs of eating disorders at younger ages, and by the time they reach specialist care, their problems are often more complex and deep-rooted. This earlier onset reflects a combination of pressures, from social media that amplifies body image concerns, to the unmet emotional needs of children still recovering from the pandemic, to a system that remains too slow to respond.

Teachers are increasingly the first to spot the signs. Yet they are not clinicians and many feel ill-equipped to act. The result is a critical gap between early identification and intervention. The Eating Disorders (Training) Bill introduced by MP Richard Quigley on February 10, which seeks to make eating disorder training compulsory for frontline staff such as teachers, must be approved. Otherwise, we condemn a generation to permanent problems.

When eating disorders are recognized and treatment begins promptly, outcomes improve significantly. Otherwise, the disease can quickly worsen and become life-threatening, requiring more intensive, expensive and prolonged rehabilitation.

This is why there is an urgent need for greater integration between community, primary care and specialist services. This should be supported by mandatory training for school staff and nurses, as well as clearer lines of communication between education and health services.

This is a society-wide challenge to combat some of the deadliest mental illnesses. The sooner we act, the greater the chances of lasting recovery and keeping young people safe.
Laetitia Beaujard-Ramoo
Ipswich, Suffolk