Fondazzjoni Kenn Għal Saħħtek chairman Anton Grech was “shocked” at the high number of self-referred young people who visited Dar Kenn Għal Saħħtek during the open weekend earlier this year.

Located in Mtarfa, the residential and semi-residential facility provides a holistic treatment for people suffering from eating disorders and obesity.

“Before we opened the facility, we had conducted research on the subject. However, a lot of young people visited us during the open weekend – numbers which were not captured in our research”.

Dr Grech was addressing a conference on eating disorders and obesity organised by the Department of Occupational Therapy in Mount Carmel Hospital and the foundation.

Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and eating disorder not otherwise specified are serious mental disorders which people typically acquire in mid-adolescence at a developmentally sensitive time.

Opening the conference, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca called upon professionals to carry out research on social factors vis-à-vis obesity.

Obesity, she said, was not only a result of overeating and lack of exercise but also stemmed from social and financial problems.

“There are people who can’t afford to eat healthily because healthy food is more expensive. If you add the fact that people might lack an education and therefore are unable to budget their everyday expenses, you’ll end up with people who find themselves at great risk.”

She also called for greater integration and inter-disciplinarity between professionals in the field, adding that this was of heightened importance in view of the fact that Malta has a lack of financial resources, infrastructure and human resources.