Dr. Brendan Doody:

It is interesting because it is also mirrored in the presentations to the liaison service at the National Children's Hospital, Tallaght, where they have seen a fivefold increase in presentations of young people with eating disorders over eight years. It is difficult to put it down to one factor. In recent years we have seen an upward trend in young people presenting with eating disorders and we have seen that they are presenting at an earlier age. We also noted that the pandemic accelerated this increase. There was an upward trajectory and we would feel that if you look at our referrals there is a correlation. We have looked at referrals to the inpatient unit and in admissions and we definitely saw a Covid pandemic affect. The impact of the Covid pandemic on the mental health and well-being of young people was negative and we saw an increase in a range of disorders, particularly anxiety-type disorders. On that spectrum we also saw an increase in eating disorders. That is not just something that we have seen in this country but internationally we have seen a huge surge in demand for services for young people with eating disorders.