Experts: Pandemic ‘Massively Increased’ Number of People With Eating Disorders
‘OUT OF CONTROL’
“It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before," one eating disorder treatment program administrator told the AP. Another said that daily calls seeking treatment have more than doubled.
Administrators say the number of patients seeking treatment for eating disorders has “massively increased” during the pandemic. “It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness CEO Johanna Kandel told the Associated Press. Kandel said that the support groups run by her organization have seen their membership swell to more than 7,000. Dietitian Jillian Lampert, who is the chief strategy officer at the University of Minnesota-affiliated The Emily Program, said that daily calls for people looking for treatment have more than doubled during the pandemic to 130 from around 60. Patients tell her that because of the pandemic their lives feel “out of control,” she said. According to an analysis of patient data from about 80 U.S. hospitals conducted by the Associated Press, there has been a 30% increase in admissions for patients with eating disorders starting in March of 2020.
