Study: One in ten upper secondary school students in Norway has an eating disorder

Photo: Sara Johannessen Meek / NTB

One in ten upper secondary school students in Norway suffers from an eating disorder, a study shows. 

Furthermore, one in three girls aged 16–19 experience major problems when it comes to food and eating, the newspaper Aftenposten writes.

“Our study shows that eating disorders are no longer unusual, on the contrary. The numbers are alarmingly high,” senior researcher Camilla Lindvall Dahlgren told the newspaper. She works at the Regional Section for Eating Disorders (RASP) at Oslo University Hospital and has led the study.

The study shows that one in five students is at risk of becoming ill. Dahlgren pointed out that the incidence of anorexia is seven times higher now than just over 20 years ago. She believes that social media plays an important role in the development of eating disorders.

“Everyone has a mobile phone in their pocket and can compare themselves with others all the time. That is probably an important reason why so many more people are getting sick now,” she added.

The survey was carried out between November 2020 and May 2021. Over 1,500 young people participated. In addition, 99 people were interviewed.

The article is being evaluated and is going through the peer-review process of the internationally recognized journal International Journal of Eating Disorders, but has not yet been published.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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