1.6 times more youths in Japan diagnosed with anorexia in FY2020 compared to year before

FUKUOKA -- The number of people aged under 20 in Japan who were newly diagnosed with anorexia -- a commonly known eating disorder -- in fiscal 2020 increased by about 1.6 times compared to the previous year in what may be a consequence of lifestyle changes triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, a survey by the National Center for Child Health and Development in Tokyo has revealed.

Researchers at the national child health center believe that self-restraint from going out and temporary school closures were among the factors that caused stress among youths and contributed to eating disorders. They emphasize the need for people to take notice of problems among children at home and at school before such symptoms become serious, and to direct them to medical institutions to receive care.

An eating disorder is a psychological illness, and typical symptoms include anorexia, in which an individual excessively restricts their consumption out of extreme fear of gaining weight, and bulimia, in which a person binge-eats a large volume of food impulsively. More than 90% of eating disorder patients are said to be women, and the incidence rate among those aged between 10 and 29 is high. In recent years, a trend of symptoms appearing in younger children has been highlighted, including among fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school students (10 to 12 years old).

Between April and June 2021, the center sent questionnaires to about 30 organizations -- primarily medical institutions -- across the country that participate in or cooperate with the children's mental care network the center is involved in. Twenty-six organizations responded to the survey to study the coronavirus pandemic's effects on children's mental health.

The results showed that 28 young men were diagnosed with anorexia following their first visit to doctors for eating disorders in fiscal 2020, up from 17 in fiscal 2019. For young women, the figure was 230, an increase from 141 in the previous year. The numbers grew about 1.6 times from fiscal 2019 for both young women and young men. The number of newly hospitalized patients for anorexia also increased in a year-to-year comparison, from six to nine for young men, while it grew from 93 to 132 for young women.

The child health center pointed out that behind the increase in patients was stress caused by factors including not having been able to see friends due to the change in living environment amid the pandemic such as state of emergencies and temporary school closures. The center also cited a possibility that young people might have been affected by a flood of information about dieting on social media as they fear gaining weight while spending an increased amount of time at home due to refraining from going out.

Among five institutions that responded about the occupancy rates of beds for anorexia patients, two answered that it was over 200%. In addition to Japan having few medical institutions specializing in eating disorders, these facilities had to spare their beds for COVID-19 patients, likely creating bed occupancy rates exceeding capacity. The study has also shed light on bed shortages for eating disorder patients.

If an individual develops a chronic eating disorder when they're young, the risk of numerous health issues including stunted growth, amenorrhea and osteoporosis rise compared to patients who developed the symptoms as adults. While calling for upgrading and expanding medical institutions that can treat patients with eating disorders, the center said, "Because there are many eating disorder cases in which patients don't notice their own symptoms, primary care doctors and school physicians need to work together and pay closer attention to changes in children so that they can guide them to appropriate medical consultations if necessary."

(Japanese original by Akira Iida, Kyushu News Department)