The number of people in the UK who have a previously little-known eating disorder, in which those afflicted avoid many foods, has risen sevenfold in five years, figures show. The eating disorders charity Beat received 295 calls about avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (Arfid) in 2018 – comprising 2% of its 20,535 inquiries that year. However, it received 2,054 calls last year, which accounted for one in 10 of its 20,535 requests for help. Many were from children and young people or their parents.
Hardly surprising, mental illness appears to be Britain's sole growth industry these days.
Arfid is much less well-known than anorexia or bulimia. It is “an eating disorder that rarely gets the attention it deserves”.
I can't help but feel that 'getting attention' is critical here, though maybe not as the experts would have it.
The disorder can be especially challenging to diagnose because it has such a wide range of symptoms that include:
- Feeling full after eating only a few mouthfuls and struggling to consume more.
- Taking a long time over mealtimes or finding eating a chore.
- Sensitivity to the texture, smell or temperature of foods.
- Eating the same meals repeatedly or eating food only of the same colour, such as beige.
Coincidentally, another 'Guardian' article on the same day has this:
Young people are more likely to be out of work because of ill health than people in their early 40s, a report calling for action on Britain’s mental wellbeing crisis has found. People in their early 20s with mental health problems may have not had access to a steady education and can end up out of work or in low-paid jobs, the Resolution Foundation research revealed.According to official data, 34% of people aged 18 to 24 reported symptoms of mental disorder, such as depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder in 2021-22. It is a significant increase on the 2000 figure of 24%, with young women one-and-a-half times more likely to be negatively affected.
Shocker, eh?
