The past few years have seen a significant rise in the numbers of people with eating disorders across the UK . Hospital admissions have risen by 84 % since 2017 , with an 82 % rise in young people admitted since 2021 alone , according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists ( RCPsych ). 1 It ’ s estimated that an even larger number of people with eating disorders are going undiagnosed and untreated due to signs of their illness being missed .

At the same time , healthcare professionals have experienced a huge increase in pressure and workload , particularly since the pandemic . At the eating disorder charity Beat , we know nurses play a vital role in ensuring eating disorders are better recognised , understood and treated . But nurses across the field need the right support and guidance in order to help their patients get the care they deserve .

What are the challenges in spotting an eating disorder ? Some common challenges faced by nursing staff when identifying symptoms that may indicate an eating disorder stem from a lack of screening tools , training or knowledge . At Beat we found most medical students were given less than two hours ’ teaching about eating disorders during their degree . 2 When we asked UK nurses about specific training in eating disorders , many told us they had received little or none . 3

People with an eating disorder might hide their condition , not recognise that they are ill , or be in denial that they have an eating disorder , which can make it difficult to recognise when a patient is unwell . Secrecy is often based on worry about how others will react to their disorder , including a fear of not being believed .

For instance , it ’ s common for people who are unwell to feel they ’ re not ‘ sick enough ’ to seek help . While

eating disorders affect an estimated 1.25 million people across the UK 4 of all different weights , ages , genders and backgrounds , there are still harmful misconceptions that you must have a low BMI in order to be diagnosed , or that only younger , white females have eating disorders . This can prevent people from reaching out for help , or clinicians from spotting the signs – and in some cases , it can mean a person is denied the care and treatment they need .

Why do eating disorders need to be recognised and treated early ? Identifying eating disorders quickly reduces costs to the NHS and the wider economy , as people are less likely to need intensive treatment if they can access timely care . Most importantly though , early intervention results in better recovery rates and treatment outcomes , and less risk of hospitalisation and relapse .

While recovery is possible at any stage of illness , research highlights 5 that even a treatment delay of three months can lead to significantly less improvement in wellbeing , due to the severity of the disorder increasing and it becoming more entrenched . This is because eating disorder behaviours are often initially rewarding for the individual , but then become habitual and over time become neurocognitively engrained , causing brain changes . Despite this though , instilling hope is powerful and should be a priority . Recovery is possible for anyone .

How can nurses help ? You may be one of the first to encounter a person with an eating disorder , whether it is diagnosed or not . This makes it important to be able to spot early warning signs of emerging and subthreshold disorders , as well as

Nurses need the right support and guidance in order to help their patients get the care they deserve

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