I watched the documentary last night about the girl with an eating disorder aged 8,and was quite shocked that we are getting girls this young with such worrying problems who have their lives totally disrupted by this problem.

As she was so young the normal method of couselling didnt work so well as it does with the older ones so it appeared that she 'ate to get out' and the people who managed the centre felt that when she got home, she may go back to the old ways, though of course she insisted that she wouldnt.
She would have died without this intervenbtion, so why are the support services so underfunded.

They had to send her home and I guess that they were probably needing a lot longer with her but this will affect her now for the rest of her life, despite her mother thinking it was all in the past.

Did anyone else see it?

I watched some of it, it was very sad that a girl so young could be affected. I sincerely hope that she makes a full recovery

It bothers me that this problem is frequently mislabelled (originally by the press, but now by people in general)

I missed this as we spent the evening watching Railway programs about how the network grew and was decimated etc

The single biggest cause of non-eating disorders is stress - which makes you wonder what we're NOT protecting our kids from these days!

how long have eating disorders been going on ? did it start in the days of hollywood etc or more recent

I watched this too; I started a thread on it last night somewhere!

I think eating disorders are so misunderstood and as soon as someone appears to be 'normal' weight, they are considered to be fine. People forget that eating disorders don't necessarily mean you are thin as a rake either; lots of people suffer but look as healthy as everyone else. I'm sure many parents think their children are fine, and don't know that they throw their lunch away, spend their lunch money on something else, aren't eating dinner before mum/dad is home from work etc. Or that they are eating obsessively because they're hurting.

how long have eating disorders been going on ? did it start in the days of hollywood etc or more recent

Probably for a very long time. There are a lot of medieval saints (men and women) who were inedic (people who believe they can live without food). Even Jesus practised it at times. There was also a lot of it in Victorian times. The difference is that these people did it for religious reasons whereas today people do it more because of equating being thin with being desirable. Though it's only since WWI that being thin has been seen as desirable.

Probably for a very long time. There are a lot of medieval saints (men and women) who were inedic (people who believe they can live without food). Even Jesus practised it at times. There was also a lot of it in Victorian times. The difference is that these people did it for religious reasons whereas today people do it more because of equating being thin with being desirable. Though it's only since WWI that being thin has been seen as desirable.there's a world of difference between an eating disorder and deliberately imposing fasting on yourself though - which proves my point!

there's a world of difference between an eating disorder and deliberately imposing fasting on yourself though - which proves my point!

Well yes, as I said, today it is done out of the idea that being thin is desirable, whereas in the past it was done out religious fervour.

They do come from the same root though as the anorexic has to make that first step into refusing food - or into vomiting after a binge, if they have bulimia. And you could say that our religious fervour today has been replaced by health fervour, so it's no surprise that just as people used to take faith too far, they also take dieting too far and it tips over into eating disorders.

that's not how it happens at all mathom - it isn't a choice to refuse food

it can originate from a bout of illness, whereby being faced with food can be repulsive, and the subsequent stomach shrinkage and chemicals produced by the body begin the downward spiral (attempts by other people to force the issue create stress and add to the recipe for disaster), or can be the reaction to extreme stress - many people barely eat for days when bereaved for instance. Most people recover naturally from these circumstances, unfortunately some need assistance to recover

Maybe the management should link these two? (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=403304)

that's not how it happens at all mathom - it isn't a choice to refuse food

it can originate from a bout of illness, whereby being faced with food can be repulsive, and the subsequent stomach shrinkage and chemicals produced by the body begin the downward spiral (attempts by other people to force the issue create stress and add to the recipe for disaster), or can be the reaction to extreme stress - many people barely eat for days when bereaved for instance. Most people recover naturally from these circumstances, unfortunately some need assistance to recover

That's how my gran developed it, from refusing to eat certain things. Or are you saying that the refusal to eat might not happen until someone is already ill or under stress? Because that makes sense! :thumbsup: After all, why would you refuse to eat anything at all unless you were under some kind of cloud?

The single biggest cause of non-eating disorders is stress - which makes you wonder what we're NOT protecting our kids from these days!

Perhaps being constantly monitored and confined to the house for your own safety is stressfull, perhaps being allowed out of the house every now and again with their mates might help ?

...are you saying that the refusal to eat might not happen until someone is already ill or under stress? Because that makes sense! :thumbsup: After all, why would you refuse to eat anything at all unless you were under some kind of cloud?spot on :thumbsup: Most of it is psychological, but how many people do you know (for instance) who won't drink a certain brand of alcohol after a particularly bad night on it? Food works the same way. Our sense of smell triggers far more than sight or sound do, sometimes to the point where we don't even make the connection but we're sensitive to a stimulus

As a child I suffered from all kinds of horrid colds and whatnot. This adversely affected the taste of many foods, but attempted force feeding by well meaning relatives only served to entrench the problem. Then I had a grandmother who you couldn't say 'that's nice' to as she'd bulk buy and you'd be fed it every night for a month!

Perhaps being constantly monitored and confined to the house for your own safety is stressfull, perhaps being allowed out of the house every now and again with their mates might help ?more than just a bit! I'd be very surprised if there was nobody making mountains out of molehills for this kid too if she's not allowed out.

Exercise is well known to stimulate appetite too

if she got hungry she would eat anything.