Researchers from various Spanish research institutes and the TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University (Boston) recall that the questionnaire Sick, Control, One, Fat, Food (SCOFF) 5-item is the most widely used screening measure to detect and assess ED. If the tool exists and is recognized, no meta-analysis had, until then, specified the prevalence of these disorders in children and young people.
Nearly 1 in 3 girls have an ED.
The study analyzed data from 63,181 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 assessed by the SCOFF questionnaire, free from physical or mental disorders, the data having been collected outside the COVID-19 period. The analysis reveals a very high proportion of young people with eating disorders:
- the overall proportion of children and adolescents with eating disorders is 22.36%;
- girls are significantly more likely to develop an ED (30.03%) than boys (16.98%);
- the prevalence of eating disorders increases with age and body mass index (BMI).
This analysis, carried out on a very large sample, in terms of participants, age groups and country of residence, demonstrates a real rise in eating disorders among the youngest, simultaneously with the obesity epidemic.
A worrying increase that calls for the urgent implementation of strategies to prevent eating disorders, including in the fight against obesity.