CHILDREN with a history of serious physical illness could be at greater risk
of developing anorexia nervosa.
Beth Watkins of St George鈥檚 Hospital Medical School in London and her team
studied 90 children, with an average age of 15, who had anorexia or other eating
disorders. She found that those with anorexia were more likely to have suffered
several serious illnesses than healthy people (Eating Behaviours, vol
2, p 209). Previous studies have suggested this link in older patients.
Watkins warns that her study is only preliminary, but if the result holds up, it
could lead to much swifter treatment of childhood anorexia. 鈥淚t would be an
early warning,鈥� says Watkins.