The number of children and young people treated has increased by two-fifths since the pandemic, from 8,034 in 2019/20 to 11,174 in 2024/25.

New NHS guidance clamps down on the use of BMI thresholds to assess whether someone needs eating disorder treatment, with staff reminded not to use the outdated practice. Clinicians will instead use a range of factors to assess young people, with more focus on behaviour changes and family concerns rather than relying on rigid measures.

Online training will also be provided to teachers, GPs, and school nurses to ensure they are aware of signs and how they can refer a child for NHS support, backed by the charity Beat and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Every local area in England now has a specialist eating disorder service for children and young people, compared to a handful of areas a decade ago.  Children are seen and offered treatment within three weeks of a referral, on average, for conditions such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders, thanks to the expansion of NHS services.

The NHS has ramped up the support on offer close to people's homes as part of the 10-Year Health Plan, so young people are given treatment earlier, before they become seriously unwell and require hospital treatment.

Dr Adrian James, national medical director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity at NHS England, said: ‘We know the significant pressures young people are experiencing which can be exacerbated by social media bombarding them with content that does not always show realistic body images.

‘And we're seeing the impact of that with growing numbers of young people turning to the NHS for eating disorder support, but it's vital that everyone knows how to access this treatment which is why we will be offering training to teachers, GPs and school nurses to spot the signs and refer children for specialist help faster.'

Dr Ashish Kumar, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Eating Disorders Faculty, said: ‘We welcome this guidance which has the potential to reduce waiting times and improve care for children and young people who have anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders. These conditions can be extremely serious and even life-threatening when left untreated, so it is imperative that we are bold in our efforts to innovate the support that is available.

‘Community eating disorder services should use this guidance to establish day care and outreach initiatives that can prevent young people from becoming unwell and help others recover more quickly. We also need new care pathways for patients with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) who often struggle to access treatment.

‘This guidance provides a blueprint through which frontline eating disorder services can work with GPs, paediatricians, neurodiversity pathways, schools, colleges and intellectual disability services to better meet the needs of children and young people. We hope integrated care boards will seize this opportunity and support services to implement these national commissioning guidelines as soon as possible with the appropriate resources and funding.'