VWe know them as anorexia nervosa, bulimia or binge eating. Eating disorders (ED) are frequent : 19.4% of women and 13.8% of men, with a severe and too often fatal prognosis. Their psychological, physical and social repercussions are serious. Diagnoses and treatments are too late, because they are too little known. Their early identification, associated with appropriate multidisciplinary care, nevertheless makes it possible to cure them or considerably improve their evolution.
For these reasons, the World ATT Day takes place every year, on June 2, in order to raise awareness among the public, health professionals and public authorities in the fight against this scourge. The 2022 edition, conducted in France with the support of the Directorate General for Health, occurs in an unprecedented context: the Covid-19 pandemic has favored the development of ED and aggravated those preexisting, generating a explosion in demand for care and the impossibility for the specialized structures to respond to them.
TCAs combine intrusive thoughts about food and weight, behaviors of restriction or excess food, which poison the life of the subjects. They affect all ages, evolve over months or even years. Often they are hidden by those who suffer from them, out of shame or guilt. Meals being at the center of daily life and serving as a support for social relations, the occurrence of an ED upsets the whole family. The role of loved ones, parents, is crucial for daily care and support. Essential in the recovery process, they are accompanied by health professionals, in conjunction with family and user associations.
Structural deficiencies
Since 2005, the French Federation Anorexia Bulimia (FFAB), an association of health professionals, and the National Federation of associations linked to eating disorders (FNA-TCA), an association of users and families, have been working together to develop a quality specialized care, sized to the needs of the population. They constantly alert to the very worrying situation in France, even more so since the aggravation caused by the health crisis.
The current critical situation has been highlighted by a national survey: the services are saturated, the vital emergency situations which do not find a hospitalization solution are multiplying, dramatically revealing the shortcomings structural aspects of the treatment chain for eating disorders.
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