Anorexia and bulimia are the main cause of death by illness among Italian girls and young women between the ages of 12 and 25, the Italian Society for the Study of Food Behaviour Disorders (SISDCA) warned Thursday.
Between 0.2% and 0.3% of the population are known to suffer from anorexia and bulimia, but SISDCA believes cases that go unreported could triple the real number of people battling with the two illnesses.
''Serious food behaviour disorders are in continuous growth and are crippling illnesses with a high mortality rate,'' said SISDCA President Roberto Ostuzzi.
Ostuzzi warned that the illnesses carried a high risk of becoming chronic conditions.
Death by suicide or from complications resulting from malnutrition among sufferers stands at 10% after ten years of the first appearance of the illness, rising to 20% after 20 years.
SISDCA said it was rare in Italy for sufferers to undergo forced treatment for their condition, with only around 1% of patients receiving such therapy.
In the United States and United Kingdom the rate of forced treatment - a controversial practice - is ''at least 15 times higher'', according to the society.
SISDCA appealed for a review of the application of forced treatment for those suffering from serious cases of anorexia and bulimia.
Health Undersecretary Francesca Martini said this was one of the hypotheses being studied, but said a ''blanket application'' of forced treatment was not appropriate.
''We need a specific type of treatment that will be administered by specialist clinics,'' she said, adding that it would be necessary to map the spread of the illness in Italy as well as the absence of specialist clinics in some regions.
But Martini acknowledged that anorexia was on the rise, ''also among children''.
''Early diagnosis and greater information on the problem is fundamental, also for doctors,'' she said.
Last year a report from the Association of Food Science Specialists (ANSISA) showed that seven out of ten Italian girls are unhappy with their bodies.
The report estimated that over a million young women suffered from ''serious'' illnesses related to food such as anorexia and bulimia.
The association said that while glossy women's magazines continued to supply 'bad' role models in the form of overly thin models to young girls, in 20% of food illness cases reported in 2007, the mother of the girl also had issues relating to food.
