The COVID pandemic and concomitant health measures have fueled a sharp rise in the number of young men and women struggling with eating disorders, a top mental health expert told Ynet on Wednesday.
According to Sigal Sidlik Alon, the chief national psychologist at healthcare provider Clalit, the increasing pervasion of the phenomenon among Israeli youths is an outgrowth of the stress they experienced during the country's three pandemic-induced lockdowns, as well as their prolonged use of social media and conference call app Zoom replacing in-person contact.
"Studying for so many hours via Zoom is like standing in front of a mirror all the time. And it's not just you in front of yourself, but it's you in front of an entire class. So obviously questions about body image arise,” says Sidlik Alon.
“In addition, the intensive use of social networks, which effectively replaced leaving the house during lockdowns, also led to a frequent encounter of young men and women with their body image.”
According to Sidlik Alon, another indicator of the growing phenomenon is a dramatic increase in the number of youths and teens who turn to mental health clinics seeking professional help.
"Preparation on the national level is needed to address all of these referrals, but first and foremost, prevention must be taken care of: This includes raising awareness of the issue of body image while creating parental and educator interventions as early as possible."
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Studying via Zoom greatly contributed to the increase in eating disorders among teens
Dr. Dorit Porat, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and director of the youth daycare unit at Mental Health Center Lev Hasharon, adds that reports of eating disorders have increased by 50% in recent months compared to previous years.
"I definitely attribute this to the passive sitting at home, which caused a lot of kids to engage in emotional eating due to low moods. We are also seeing upward body weight changes in some of the kids,” she says.
Porat advises parents to be vigilant and try to help children return to a healthy lifestyle which includes more movement, less sitting in front of a computer, more outdoor activities and more meetings with friends.