WATCH: Eating disorders among kids surge amid the pandemic, say experts
Excessive use of social media and isolation from friends have triggered poor eating habits among children
December 29, 2020
- Health experts say the pandemic has given a rise to eating disorders among children
- They said excessive use of social media and isolation from friends during the lockdown have triggered the problem
- Social media use induces issues of self-image among children, causing disorders such as anorexia
Health experts have found that the coronavirus pandemic, and the consequent lockdown across the globe, has given rise to eating disorders among kids.
Read more: Being called 'fat' in early teens tied to later eating disorders for girls
According to researchers at the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health (RCPCH) in the United Kingdom, they talked to parents of young children and asked them to observe their eating habits over the months.
Per The Daily Mail, experts found that excessive use of social media and isolation from friends during the lockdown have triggered poor eating habits among children.
"Increased use of social media while staying at home can also give children unrealistic ideas of how their body should look," the experts said.
They further revealed that other issues engendered by the pandemic, such as anxiety about family finances, contracting COVID-19, fear of losing loved ones to the virus, have affected children's well-being and have aggravated poor eating habits.
Read more: Mental illnesses in Pakistan on the rise due to coronavirus, say experts
Some paediatricians also say that eating disorders among children, such as anorexia, have increased four times in 2020 as compared to last year.
The RCPCH has asked parents to look out for signs in their children.
Dr Karen Street, an officer for child mental health at the RCPCH, said:
"Eating disorders are often related to a need for control – something many young people feel they have lost during the pandemic."
"Many have described needing a focus and goals which, in the absence of anything else, has for some centred around eating and exercise."
Dr Simon Chapman, a consultant paediatrician at King's College Hospital, added that he has worked in eating disorders for ten years and had never received so many cases before.
Related: Coronavirus blues: Are we headed for a mental health pandemic next?
