Worried parents are turning to a national eating disorder helpline with concerns about their young children, it emerged today.
Ms Jennie O'Reilly of Bodywhys said there were more than 2,600 calls made to their support services last year, with parents accounting for 21 per cent of inquiries.
"It is an unprecedented number 2,600 people looking for support," she said. "There are a huge number of calls coming from parents and partners worried about symptoms."
Most callers do not reveal their age but statistics from the Bodywhys annual report showed that around 1 per cent of calls related to children under 10.
"We do find that the odd parent phones usually about a child having concerns about their body shape, or the child may be a difficult eater," Ms O'Reilly said.
Ms Jennie O'Reilly of Bodywhys
Around 42 per cent of the 2,600 calls, which were up 20 per cent from 2002, came from concerned relations or friends, with one in 10 calls from males, she said.
"The percentage calling that are male probably tend to be parents or concerned partners. Males tend to get bulimia and they e-mail in. Maybe it is that men are not as confident about coming forward for treatment."
Men account for 12 per cent of the people attending their support groups but this also included parents looking for support with their children.
"We are delighted the awareness has increased," Ms O'Reilly said. "We have tried to raise the awareness of the eating disorders. It affects everybody not distinguished by class, geographical location and not even gender. It really does affect everybody."
The group said they were unable to meet the demand for talks in schools, community centres and libraries.
PA