Eating disorders for 3 million Italians. Over half a million cases of anorexia

In Italy over 3 million people live with an eating disorder, among others anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. Only anorexia Nervous system affects approximately 1% of the population, with over 540 thousand cases, 90% of which are women. According to the Istituto Superiore di Healthcare, the most frequent age of onset is between 15 and 25 years, but cases among minors are increasing: during the first semester of 2020, new diagnoses of eating disorders are increased by 40% compared to the previous year. Also in Europe the picture is worrying: the prevalence in children reaches 2%, the highest globally. Numbers that highlight the urgency of an approach based on solid clinical foundations and not conditioned by media simplifications or narratives ideological. In view of World Eating Disorders Day, which is held on June 2nd all over the world, the Italian Society of Psychiatry (Sip) invites us to bring attention back to the complexity of eating disorders, for too long reduced to "cultural" or mere body image problems. "In recent years - observes Liliana Dell'Osso, psychiatrist and President of Sip - media attention has grown and it is campaigns to combat aesthetic stereotypes have multiplied and negative social stimuli. However, this momentum communicative has often generated confusion, overlapping different concepts - health and politics, disease and culture, nature and environment - and neglecting the clinical-biological basis of the disease. A clear example is the movement of the body positivity where the right fight against aesthetic stereotypes has taken place fused with the principle of inclusiveness, but at the risk of unknowingly encourage incorrect or unethical behavior hinder access to care." It is therefore essential to find a balance between health mental and physical health. "Excessive body weight, for example - he explains - it should not be a reason for shame or exclusion social, but it still needs to be corrected to prevent complications metabolic and cardiovascular, sometimes even serious".