constantly increasing even after the Covid-breaking latest news

The wave of eating disorders continues to grow. «After the pandemic there has not been a slowdown in new cases reported and the trend is always on the rise. Between 2021 and 2022 the bonus visit have increased by about 30%as happened between 2020 and 2021» takes stock Laura Dalla Ragione, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, director of the network of services for eating disorders of Usl Umbria 1, on the occasion of the National Food Day Lilac bowdedicated to these pathologies, which is celebrated on March 15th.

Data and numbers

The age of onset in recent years has decreased to 8-11before pubertal development. And the cases are more and more serious. At the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome access to the emergency room in the last two years (2021-2022) they doubled compared to the previous two-year period (2019-2020), going from 463 to 911. While the hospitalizations hospitals have grown by more than half (plus 56%): from 362 to 565. Day hospitals have also increased (plus 24%): from 1062 to 1320).
In Italy, over three million people suffer from eating disorders and “I’m there second leading cause of adolescent death after road accidents» recalls Dalla Ragione. The users in charge of dedicated treatment centers according to an estimate by the Higher Institute of Health dating back to 2021 are at 90% female.
The three main disorders found are: anorexia nervosa (42%), bulimia nervosa (18%) and binge eating, i.e. large recurring binges without vomiting and other methods of compensation (14.6%).

The danger of social networks

«With more and more digital natives involved it is necessary not to underestimate the influence that i social network on the early onset of these diseases – comments the expert -. Today the use of social media has in all respects become part of the risk factors of eating disorders in situations of greater fragility. So much so that during the anamnesis we ask the patient which sites, apps and chats he frequents, for how long a day and if his self-esteem and lifestyle are conditioned by virtual interactions ». From Reason you edited together with Raffaela Vanzetta (psychotherapist) the book “Social hunger” (Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore) due out at the end of March, which investigates the relationship between adolescence, social media and eating disorders. The preface is signed by Fiorenza Sarzanini, deputy director of the Corriere della Sera, who suffered from bulimic anorexia in his youth and a year ago in the essay «Affamati d’amore» (Solferino ed.) told his personal story with a happy ending and that of many boys still sick, to shed light on an emergency society that exploded during the Covid that does not find adequate treatment responses in the area. «The virtual is very real for the generation that was born and raised with the internet. It is part of the process of building personal identity and this is an aspect that can no longer be ignored. This does not mean that social networks are the cause of eating disorders but a triggering effect that contributes to their diffusion» observes Dalla Ragione.

The causes of eating disorders

Eating disorders are pathologies determined by multiple concomitant factors, such as “low self-esteem, perfectionism, previous traumas, genetic vulnerability” recalls the psychiatrist. At the heart of the food obsession isdissatisfaction with one’s body: «The continuous exposure to images and videos of influencers and celebrities with perfectly smooth faces, bright eyes, flat stomachs and sculpted buttocks, induces a constant frustration towards one’s physical appearance and a desire to emulate those bodies that are as perfect as they are unreal, because they have been modified with all possible filters and perhaps corrected with medical and cosmetic surgery procedures» explains Dalla Ragione. Social networks, apps and chats then increase the sharing of diets and workouts to lose weight quickly. «If the influencer is a peer – underlines the doctor -, who films himself from his bedroom while dispensing advice on how to reduce daily calories and on the physical exercises to do to burn everything you take, the distance is shortened and the goals they seem even more attainable. Lastly, the virtual space is the scene of judgments, comments and insults on body image. «90% of young people with an eating disorder confess that they have been bullied online or live for his appearance aesthetic» says Dalla Ragione. On chat and social media, the psychiatrist argues in the book, the body loses its sacredness, understood as uniqueness, and its vitality, which makes it the home of our soul: «The moment you idolize a model of ideal beauty, you he searches for a homogenized and inanimate body, he stops inhabiting his own body, which becomes ugly and foreign, something to be disassembled and reassembled. And precisely the control and manipulation of the body, as an expression of a profound discomfort, are at the basis of the eating disorder ».

The questionnaire

The book «Social hunger» presents the results of a questionnaire administered between May and July 2021 by the Usl Umbria 1, from which it emerges that those with a diagnosed eating disorder in 57% of cases, he followed diets proposed through apps, social networks and websites against 11% of those who are not affected. The gap is less wide if we consider the use of these tools to control calories, weight and physical activity: 76% against 61%. Nearly seven out of ten sufferers report having tried to mimic the lifestyle of influencers. While healthy people are just three out of ten. It should also be noted that Instagram is the most used social network, followed by Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter and Snapchat. But social media shouldn’t be demonized. “They can become a prevention tool, a channel for the dissemination of nutritional messages and healthy lifestyles by professionals and former patients” concludes Dalla Ragione.

Prevention, an example

The watchword is prevention because only by preventing eating disorders can this epidemic be stopped. Raffaela Vanzetta, psychotherapist, coordinates the specialist center for the prevention of eating disorders of the Bolzano Prevention Forum (which also deals with addictions, violence, families and adolescents), a foundation affiliated with the South Tyrolean health company. «We offer anonymous and free initial consultations to parents, teachers, friends and partners of people who show a dysfunctional relationship with food and to those who think they have this problem, to guide assistance services in the area, motivate them to seek treatment, understand if condition is serious or if a period of observation is needed – explains Vanzetta -. We organize 6-hour training courses for parents, school teachers of all levels, boarding school educators, sports instructors, in which we teach how to recognize the early signs of the disorder and not to indulge in harmful practices». Another activity of the center are the workshops in schools. «4-hour interventions to raise students’ awareness of social media pressure on body satisfaction. We make young people think about how many hours they spend on social media, how much emotional energy they invest to match the ideals of beauty, whether there are things they would like to do but for which they can’t find the time, about the difference in sensations after an afternoon out with friends and one spent on the internet, on the qualities they appreciate about themselves and which make them a good friend». Lastly, the center invests in online awareness campaigns and in public places (including buses and trains) to promote collective awareness on the subject. «The next one will leave in April – says Vanzetta -. It is called “Respect everybody” and provides for the creation of “comment free zones”, ie areas in workplaces, schools, bus stops, shops, where people are invited not to judge the physical appearance of others. We have already received many reservations for stickers to hang on doors and walls to delimit these suspension areas». The prevention activities that the center has been carrying out for years have yielded important results. “People turn first to ask for help from the services and the mortality rate is zero,” concludes Vanzetta.