Call for better data collection on anorexia and bulimia comes as experts warn of underreported crisis
Eating disorder deaths need to be recorded on a national register, MPs are urging, as experts warn of an underreported “crisis” in the growing number of people in the UK experiencing life-threatening disorders.
While Office for National Statistics figures show 36 people died in 2019 from conditions such as anorexia, there are concerns this underestimates the true toll. A high-level US study gives estimated data on death rates that when transposed to the UK indicates that the annual death rate could be about 1,860 people a year.
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