SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Every 52 minutes, a person dies as a direct consequence of an eating disorder. Kids as young as five can develop one, and there has been a massive spike over the last five years.
From 2018 to 2022, doctors saw eating disorders double in kids younger than 17. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, the National Eating Disorders Association saw a 75% spike in messages to their helpline.
Researchers point not only to traditional media but now social media as a contributing factor. Despite the staggering number of children suffering, there is not an eating disorder unit at Upstate. To get care, some kids have to leave the area.
Now, there is a push to get more resources to our community to help kids like the one we met recently.
For years, just sitting down for a meal was triggering for 13-year-old Lydia Radley. “I thought well maybe if I get prettier, people will notice me,” the Fayetteville-Manlius 8th grader said.
Lydia says her eating disorder started when she was 12. The longtime dancer started losing weight. Her mom thought she might be sick and took her to the pediatrician. “Little did we know, that was the start of the actual eating disorder and the voice in her head,” her mother Sheila Radley said.
Lydia admits she started skipping meals. At her sickest, she was down to just 300 calories a day. Just opening a door took so much energy, she felt like she had to lay down. By then, she was told she could have a heart attack. “It was hard, and I kept thinking to myself, this will all be worth it next year when people finally notice me,” she said.
Then one day, her middle school gave the students a screening that changed everything. “They did those evaluations on the mental health and Lydia had red flags all over the place,” her mom said. “I’m so thankful for that. That is what lead us to the people we needed. The right people that we needed to get the help that we were looking for. We were already looking for help, but we didn’t know what we were looking for.”
Lydia’s mom got her in to see Upstate nurse practitioner Davia Moss. “She was just so malnourished and so dehydrated,” Moss said. “She was so tiny.”
Lydia is far from alone with her struggle. Eating disorders have skyrocketed 120% nationwide since the pandemic. “We used to admit 2 or 3 (kids) a year, and now that has exploded,” Moss said. “And we just don’t have those resources here.”
Between 2020 and 2023, Upstate had to send away nearly 60 kids for care. Rochester has the closest inpatient unit. To get residential treatment, kids have to go downstate.
We are seeing younger and younger and sicker.
By February 2023, Lydia found herself in the hospital and on her way to a treatment facility downstate. “I collapsed. I was a complete mess. It happened so fast,” her mom said. “I’m like how do I send her 4 hours away? She’s 12, and I only got to see her once a week for an hour and a half.”
Lydia would spend the next two months there doing intensive therapy. Her care team encouraged her to name the voice in her head, which she called ‘Heather.’ She put ‘Shut up Heather’ stickers on her water bottle. Her mom also helped her put up inspirational messages on her mirror. “We put words of wisdom on the mirrors and all over the place because that’s what they said would help her,” her mother Sheila said. “Every time she looked in the mirror, she needed to know how beautiful she was.”
These days, Lydia says she has good and bad days. She says it is a constant battle but one she is working hard to win. “Gradually I started thinking, I don’t want to go back to that. I don’t want to go back to being miserable,” she said. “I realized that I really hated my life before and I really didn’t want to be miserable. And I liked being myself.”
Right now, Upstate is working to create an intensive outpatient program for kids with eating disorders so they can treat children before their illness has gotten so bad they have to be sent away for treatment.
Next week, there is an inaugural event to benefit eating disorder patients and their families. It will be held on May 31 at the Everson Museum of Art in downtown Syracuse. ‘Feeing the Mind, Funding Recovery’ will be benefit Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital and the families affected by eating disorders. NBC3 Anchor Megan Coleman will emcee the event from 6-9 p.m. The event proceeds will be donated to a fund held at the Upstate Foundation to support Upstate’s eating disorder program. You can find more information about the event and get tickets by clicking here.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, here are some ways you can help:
Aim to provide emotional support and validation with firm structure. Be loving and respectful and validate the person while remaining firm and calmCreate a positive atmosphere as much as possible
Limit choices, plan meals beforehand, no negotiations during the meal or in the kitchenEat together and avoid sensitive topics like food, weight, calories, appearance, friends, success in school/sportsUse distractions that draw attention away from the mealAllow only two questions about food, then redirect all questionsMeals should be conversation-focused, no talk about foodHelp your child with coping skills to ease anxiety before and after mealsRemember when you feel it was a good meal that is when the child may feel the worst. The eating disorder voice may be very loud at these times and the child may feel physically ill and guilty. You can help by engaging in distracting activities and remaining presentThere is no magic or quick fix. Remember this is never the parent or guardian’s fault. Try to be present with your child without becoming anxious yourself
Here are some other resources that can help:
