The charity, Beat, has seen a 300% increase in calls to its helpline during the pandemic, with children from wealthier backgrounds more likely to be diagnosed.
The number of teenage girls with eating disorders has increased dramatically since the start of the COVID pandemic, with experts warning of a “postcode lottery of care”.
The new study, published in the Lancet Child And Adolescent Health journal found that since March 2020 eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia were 42% higher than would be expected for teenage girls aged 13-16, and 32% higher for those aged 17-19.
The number of cases of self-harm was 38% higher than expected among girls aged 13 to 16.
The details emerged from research carried out by the University of Manchester, Keele University, University of Exeter and mental health research charity The McPin Foundation, which looked at anonymised GP health records of over nine million patients from 1,881 general practices in the UK between 2010 and 2024.
The findings were backed up by data from the eating disorder charity, Beat, which said it had seen a 300% increase in calls to its helpline during the pandemic.
