Denver doctors trying to ‘wrap their heads around’ surge in eating disorders among area teens

There’s growing concern about the number of teens in the metro area struggling with eating disorders during the pandemic.

When you break down the numbers over the last year, you’ll find 35% of those callers were between the ages of 13-17.

According to the association, that’s a 30% spike in teens compared to the year prior to the pandemic.

Officials at Denver Health say they’re experiencing similar numbers.

”We’ve always accepted air ambulance into our hospital because we take so many patients from out of the state and out of the country. Prior to COVID happening, about 15 to 20 percent of our patients were air ambulanced into Denver Health. Since COVID we’ve seen that number jump up to 60% of our patients get air ambulanced in,” said Jeana Cost, Executive Director of the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders at Denver Health.