Pandemic has fueled eating disorder surge in teens, adults

Many hospital beds are full. Waiting lists for outpatient treatment are bulging. And teens and adults seeking help for eating disorders are often finding it takes months to get an appointment.

"We are absolutely seeing massive increases," said Jennifer Wildes, an associate psychiatry professor and director of an outpatient eating disorders program at the University of Chicago Medicine. Some patients are waiting four to five months to get treatment such as psychotherapy and sometimes medication. Waits usually lasted only a few weeks pre-pandemic, Wildes said. Her program is treating about 100 patients, a near doubling since before the pandemic, she said. The Emily Program, a University of Minnesota-affiliated eating disorders treatment program, is experiencing the same thing.