Almost one in five calls to an eating disorders helpline last year came from children aged 14 and under, a new report has shown.

Around 200,000 people in Ireland have eating disorders and Bodywhys is the national voluntary organisation that supports those affected. According to its 2014 Annual Report, 18% of calls made to its helpline last year came from children aged 14 and under, with 3% of these calls coming from children aged less than 10 years.

Some 22% of calls came from teenagers aged between 15 and 18, while the highest proportion - 27% - came from people aged 25-35 years.

According to Harriet Parsons, Bodywhys' service coordinator, this shows that ‘contrary to the myth, eating disorders are not a ‘teenage phase' or a ‘lifestyle choice'. They are serious and complex mental health problems'.

Where an eating disorder was specified, 60% of calls related to anorexia nervosa, 18% related to binge eating disorder and 17% related to bulimia nervosa.

Almost one in three callers said that they had been suffering with an eating disorder for at least 10 years and when treatment was mentioned, 50% said they were not in any type of treatment.

At least two in three callers rang the helpline just for a ‘listening ear', while one in five called because they felt they were in crisis. The remaining callers were looking for information.

Almost most half of callers were calling about themselves and a similar number were calling about family and friends. Nine in 10 calls came from females, and seven in 10 calls were from first-time callers.

The report also shows that in 2014, Bodywhys' email support service dealt with 536 emails, with three in four of these coming from people with eating disorders.

"There was a high percentage of people who have an eating disorder using the email service as a way of getting support and information. This is a much higher percentage than on our helpline service," the report noted.

Where people revealed if they were in treatment, 58% admitted that they were not.

"That 58% of those who contacted our email support service are not currently in treatment is of particular concern. An eating disorder is often an incredibly isolating experience. Not having support can intensify negative feelings and distress," Ms Parsons commented.

For more information on Bodywhys, click here