Eating disorders are growing and intensifying as Americans' grapple with the emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, NPR reports.
Calls to the National Eating Disorders Association hotline increased 70 percent to 80 percent in the past few months. Eating disorders are strongly associated with trauma, Claire Mysko, CEO of the association told NPR.
"And this [pandemic era] is a collective trauma," she said.
During the pandemic, more than half of people in the U.S. with anorexia said their symptoms have worsened, a survey published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders shows. Also, a third of those who suffer from binge-eating disorders, reported an increase in binge-eating events.
The lack of structure and social support are among the chief concerns of those who participated in the survey, study co-author Christine M. Peat, PhD, a clinical associate professor at UNC Hospitals-Chapel Hill told NPR.
Though some people are able to receive care via teletherapy, others have lost access to care they need, she said.
Read the full article here.
More articles on public health:
COVID-19 patients twice as likely to report dining in restaurant, CDC study finds
24 states where COVID-19 is spreading fastest, slowest: Sept. 11
COVID-19 may have been in LA as early as December; virus deaths tied to air pollution — 4 updates