* Children as young as five are being diagnosed with anorexia.
* Typical age of onset of anorexia is not between 12 and 14, compared to an average age of 16 just five years ago.
* Since 2001 there has been a 20% increase in the number of children being admitted to the hospital with anorexia.
* Physical impact of anorexia in pre-pubescent children is much more severe than in older children.
* The Eating Disorders Foundation has seen a quadrupling in the number of calls about eating disorders over the past five years.

Were you aware of this national epidemic? I’d bet not. Somehow the entire world has become focused on obesity and has ignored the problem of self-starvation.

And here is what’s sad — our focus on obesity is one of the primary causes of anorexia.

Yep, eating disorder experts blame our national obsession with obesity for the shocking rise in the number of youth being treated for anorexia. Television shows, cartoons, websites, games and toy figures have promoted a “thin” ideal among children and the almost constant emphasis on eating the “right” food has created a backlash in children where some feel compelled to cut out all the “bad” foods (e.g., fat, carbohydrates, dairy).

So, what do you think? Is obesity a bigger problem in the US or is anorexia among our youth? Which should get more of the media’s attention?

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of The Straight Scoop About Childhood Obesity

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