Number of eating disorder hospital patients up 66% in 10 years

The number of people being treated in hospitals for eating disorders has risen by about two-thirds over the past 10 years, according to figures highlighted by the Scottish Conservatives.

A total of 726 people were treated in 2015/16, the year for which most recent figures are available.

This represents a 66% rise on 2005/06 when hospitals treated 436 people.

While the 2015/16 figures showed a slight drop on the previous year - down from 742 in 2014/15 - several health boards recorded rises.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde saw numbers rise from 133 in 2014/15 to 153 the following year while NHS Tayside experienced a jump from 30 to 45.

The figures were published following a parliamentary question by Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs.

He said: “People will be shocked to see just how much of a problem eating disorders have become in recent years.

“It's clear we all need to do much more to tackle these problems before it gets so serious someone has to be hospitalised.

“The statistics are there for everyone to see - in the space of a decade the scale of this problem has increased by two-thirds.

“It's time for all parties to work together to investigate how better to help people struggling with these conditions, particularly from a young age.

“This very much ties into the mental health agenda and these numbers should remind us all that this is another major challenge facing hundreds of people across the country.'