According to a report about children under the age of 13, those as young as six have suffered signs of eating disorders. Statistics from the British Pediatric Surveillance Unit demonstrate that 206 cases were reported over a 13-month period from March 2005, which means 3.5 children for every 100,000. Of those, 37 percent were said to have anorexia symptoms and 18 percent of all cases were boys.

The youngest child was six and was showing some of the features of anorexia symptoms, but not all of the features. The youngest diagnosed case of anorexia symptoms was in an 8-year-old. Half of all the children diagnosed with anorexia symptoms had to be admitted to hospital with 60 percent having improved.

The study also found that 45 percent of children exercised excessively to keep their weight down.

Eating disorders, including those with anorexia symptoms, in addition to bulimia and binge eating, are rarely seen in children before puberty, but cases begin to rise steeply in early adolescence in girls, peaking at age 14.

In most developed countries, the average age at which girls have their first period is now 12½. Early developing girls are more likely to show signs of anorexia symptoms, for example, than late developers, suggesting that the stage of puberty could be a more important factor than age.