Eating disorders hitting five-year olds

Brittany Walker

4/19/09

6:45pm

Eating disorders are increasing in early childhood, an expert has warned after conducting a study which included a five-year-old with the potentially fatal condition. Demand for critical care beds at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, in Sydney, has increased over the past 12 months for children who were severely malnourished because of an Early Onset Eating Disorder. The condition commonly linked to teenage girls was now becoming increasingly present in Australian girls, and boys, aged 10 to 12 and even younger. Dr Madden says children are often "medically unstable'' when brought to hospital with very low blood pressure, heart rate and temperature which "basically is putting them at risk of dying''. They often needed to be tube-fed, and placed on anti-depressant or anti-psychotic medication, but if treated early their chance of full recovery was good. The number of cases is expected to rise, Dr Madden says, unless there is a change in the media's obsession with fat and weight.
When reading this article I was very disturbed at the fact that so many children in Australia were suffering from eating disorders. It is clear that those who are suffering from the disorder are also suffering from child neglect as well which is a very serious crime that should involve intense consequences. I believe that keeping your child healthy and making sure that they receive the right amount of nutrients and vitamins while maintaining a balanced diet is solely the parents responsibility, and if they are not capable of doing so then I believe that the child should be taken away until the parent finds away to get back on their feet.