Eating disorders are becoming increasingly common among young people in Belgium, with hospitals and specialised care centres no longer able to deal with the rise in cases – resulting in months-long wait lists and a backlog that keeps growing.
Approximately one in five young people have "disordered eating patterns," with the most common disorder being anorexia, which is especially evident among young girls, although the number of cases among boys is also going up.
"The number of patients remains very high and we have not seen any decrease since the various confinements," Ursula Van den Eede, psychologist and coordinator of the Eating Disorders Clinic at UZ Brussels, told La Dernière Heure.
"Since the start of the new school year in September, we have seen a new peak. The cases are really exploding. There has never been such a long waiting list [for treatment]. At the moment, the waiting time is several months – until late February or early March to even get an appointment with us."
Widespread from a younger age
For child psychiatric hospitalisation, the UZ Brussels have a waiting time of about a year; for its specific paediatric beds for patients being treated for eating disorders, it takes between three and six months to get a bed. "That is far too long, given that we are talking about young people who no longer eat, some of whom have lost 10 kg in six months. We need to move fast," Van den Eede stresses.
Young girls are still over-represented among patients and the trend in the average age of patients is also concerning healthcare professionals: "Their age is falling more and more. We are now seeing young people from the age of 11, sometimes pre-adolescents who have not even yet reached puberty," Van den Eede said. "While only about one in ten patients is a boy, we are still seeing a growing number."
Though there is never a single reason for the ailment, the UZ Brussels sees a lot of young people with low self-confidence who have difficulty expressing their feelings, especially negative ones. "We also see a lot of very perfectionist girls who are never satisfied with themselves and their bodies. They often forbid themselves from eating fatty foods, which makes them vulnerable."
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Hospitals are trying to find creative solutions while working hand in hand with other services, the aim being to keep young people at home with their families for as long as possible.
From next year, the Federal Government will bolster support for young people with eating disorders by providing increased compensation for people up to 23 years old who suffer from anorexia, bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder. From February, they will be able to count on a care team with a psychologist and dietitian for a year. This includes up to 20 sessions with a psychologist and 15 sessions with a dietitian, all reimbursed, over a period of 12 months.
"We want to get young people with unusual eating behaviour on the radar as quickly as possible to prevent them from developing an eating disorder," said Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke.
