Funding boost for anorexia research

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Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry will aim to address the gap between the number of people who suffer from the condition and those that get treatment.

Experts say anorexia - the biggest killer of any psychiatric disorder - can be difficult to diagnose because victims are often not aware they are seriously ill. The researchers hope to devise new detection systems in a bid to spot those at high risk before the disorder takes hold.

They will also develop new forms of treatment targeted at sufferers with special needs, including mothers with eating disorders and women with reproductive problems.

Currently, specialists try to address the underlying psychological issues behind anorexia through a form of counselling called cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). CBT aims to change the way the sufferer thinks about a situation and how they react to emotional triggers.

The new money will go towards detecting more cases and researching new treatments, although experts are not yet clear what they will be.

Announcing the award, health minister Rosie Winterton said the research would combat the impact of young girls aspiring to be "size zero" models, a trend she described as "deeply worrying".

Pressure to conform to a "size zero" model look is widely blamed as a key factor in the prevalence of the disorder.

At present, an estimated 1.15m people in the UK are thought to suffer from eating disorders. Yet only 90,000 - less than one in 10 - of those are estimated to be receiving treatment, according to eating disorder charity Beat and many more go undiagnosed.

The research funding has been awarded to South London and Mausdley NHS Trust, in partnership with the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and Beat.