Essex Specialist calls for "more education" on eating disorders
Paula Still says children need help navigating the extremes of healthy eating
Last updated 10th May 2023
An Essex based eating disorder specialist has told Greatest Hits radio that more needs to be done - to help local children develope healthy relationshoips with food.
Paula Still says more eduction is needed in schools on nutrition...
"And not just on weight! There's been a lot done around children being overweight but not enough education on what normal healthy nurtition is. And education on body image would help children coming up to puberty"
The latest NHS Digital figures show up to 22.5% of 11 year olds in Essex are overweight.
Andon the other end of the scale, social media creators are promoting dangerous calorie deficit diets. Paule says children need help to navigate these extremes:
"When they are often insecure and comparting themslevs to people on things like Tiktok which gives a false impresion of how people should, look...
"I think schools need to take a more active role"
"Early treatment should be focused on rather than waiting until somebody is ill. By that time everything is much more ingraiend. Accessing help is a problem because there's not enough funding put into it - it's so serious".
We approached Essex County council for their verdict...
... They reiterated their commitment to supporting young people with eating disorders, stating that it is continually working with schools to provide the right help at the right time. According to a spokesperson for the council, all ECC schools have access to the Essex portal, which provides guidance on disorderly eating and eating disorders.
The council has also produced a comprehensive guidance document called "Let's talk...Disordered eating" and is working with the Designated Mental Health Leads initiative, which provides schools with someone trained to be the strategic lead in all things related to emotional wellbeing and mental health.
In addition to this, the council has started producing a newsletter for these leads, which will be published every half-term, and signposts schools to support for eating disorders/disorderly eating by referring them to the national charity BEAT. BEAT has a new training offer for school staff named SPOT.
The council is also working with Mental Health Support Teams, covering 40% of schools in Essex, to support early identification and intervention. For the most severe cases, the ECC has commissioned the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
The council's spokesperson highlighted that the council's support services are available to all schools in the area and urged anyone concerned about eating disorders or disorderly eating to seek help.