Jun 30, 2009 6:50 pm US/Eastern
HealthWatch: Anorexia Growing In 'Tween' Girls
Research Estimates That Average Age For Eating Disorder To Set In Has Dropped By 4 To 5 Years
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Anorexia is an eating disorder once thought to be a problem predominantly among teenagers. But the condition is now a growing issue in younger girls as well.
The average age for the onset of anorexia used to be estimated at 13 to 17, but is now 9 to 12, and a recent study found that four out of every five 10-year-old girls claimed to be afraid of getting fat. Many added that they feel better about themselves when they are dieting.
Michele Walker's daughter, Shae, began a struggle with anorexia when she quit taking gymnastics in order to focus on her studies and social life. Shae was 10 at the time, and Michele believes the condition can be devastatingly difficult to overcome.
"Shae is a very social person," she said. "She had been taking gymnastics since she was 4. By the time she was 10, she was practicing about 14 to 16 hours per week. But she enjoyed it, and it was her life."
Michele added that her daughter began exhibiting the signs soon after giving up her favorite sport.
"Probably within a month after quitting, she would look in the mirror and make comments to me that she thought she was getting fat," Michele Walker said.
Shae's memories of the period are a bit fuzzier than her mother's, but she recalls some of the problems.
"I can remember the bad thoughts," she said. "I would pinch like the fat on my stomach. I guess I was seeing every imperfection that I had."
Shae then began refusing to eat foods other than salad, as well as wearing baggy clothes to hide her shrinking frame.
She also started exercising compulsively, and dropped from a healthy weight of 85 pounds to a meager 68 in just three months.
But Shae said that, at the time, she did not realize these actions were detrimental to her health.
"That (new me) compared to the person I saw in the mirror just, was way different," she added.
At 10-years-old, Shae Walker was suffering from full-fledged anorexia.
"I felt like I almost had two personalities," Shae Walker said. "The one that wanted to get better and the one that didn't."
Michele recalls that her daughter's condition soon became a life-and-death situation.
"She mentioned that she wanted to die," she said.
The Walkers had to check Shae into an eating disorders clinic, where the girl was attached to a feeding tube.
It then took months of therapy, but Shae eventually overcame anorexia. She is now 13, and has a drastically different view of life.
"I feel confident now," Shae Walker said. "I can accept myself no matter how I look."
In a recently-conducted survey, 60 percent of elementary and middle school teachers reported that eating disorders are a problem among their students, and 16 percent of girls from 8 to 11-years-old said they were dieting.
Boys are less likely to be affected, but are not exempt, with some experts believing that the illness is more severe when it involves young males.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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