Hunger for love

The very young and the danger of eating disorders: more information and more support are needed

Unfortunately they are more and more widespread, they affect ever younger sections of the population and, if not diagnosed and treated early, they tend to become chronic with serious effects on the whole organism, sometimes even lethal. Eating and nutrition disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating (i.e. uncontrolled eating disorder) are growing, particularly insidious especially for the very young. Very strong fragilities that often find families unprepared.

Recently, to improve information on this topic, the online platform of the centers dedicated to the treatment of nutrition and eating disorders was updated: the latest census counted, as of February 28, 2023, 126 structures scattered throughout the territory nationwide, of which 112 are public and 14 belong to the accredited private sector. A territorial mapping, coordinated by the National Center for Addiction and Doping of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), created with the technical and financial support of the Ministry of Health-CCM.

«Our web platform, constantly updated - says the acting manager of the National Addiction and Doping Center of the ISS, Simona Pichini - is a valuable service because it offers, in real time, a database of centers dedicated to the treatment of these disorders, which provide for global and integrated care, thus allowing citizens with nutrition and eating disorders, their families and those close to them the opportunity to take advantage of appropriate interventions".

The platform offers information on services rich in detail starting from the geographical distribution: the largest number of centers (63) are located in the northern regions (20 in Emilia Romagna and 15 in Lombardy), in the center there are 23 (of which 8 in Lazio and 6 in Umbria), while 40 are distributed between the south and the islands (12 in Campania and 7 in Sicily).

There are 1,491 professionals who work there, almost all trained and updated: mainly psychologists, child psychiatrists and neuropsychiatrists, nurses, dieticians, professional educators, medical specialists in clinical nutrition, internists or paediatricians and other specialists (including psychiatric rehabilitation technicians, social workers, physiotherapists and motor rehabilitation operators).

The diagnostic tool most used in the centers (almost nine out of ten adopt it) is the DSM5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Once the diagnosis has been made, the offer integrates different types of intervention: psychotherapeutic, monitoring of the psychic-physical-nutritional condition, nutritional, pharmacotherapy, psychoeducational, habilitation or physical and social rehabilitation. Psychotherapeutic interventions include individual, family and group approaches, often co-present.

The platform is only a small, albeit important, aid aimed at many families and many very young people who find themselves having to face a mostly unexpected trauma, without particular skills and without the necessary knowledge of the panorama of services that can provide valid support for face the challenge of the disease.

Stefano Caredda

NP Aprile 2023

There are 126 facilities scattered throughout the country with 1,491 professionals working there: psychologists, child psychiatrists and neuropsychiatrists, nurses, dieticians, professional educators, clinical nutrition specialists, internists or paediatricians