Boy, 12, taunted about being 'chubby' had to be force-fed in hospital after eating just 50 calories a day
By James Tozer
Last updated at 2:03 AM on 12th May 2010
A schoolboy taunted for being 'chubby' told yesterday how he became anorexic at the age of 11 and lost so much weight he was left on the verge of death.Taylor Kerkham, now 12, became obsessed about his calorie intake, and on some days would eat as little as half a pot of diet yoghurt and a slice of cherry tomato.
His anxious parents tried everything to make him eat more, but the previously healthy and active youngster would become hysterical and threaten to throw his dinner plate on the floor.
Eventually Taylor collapsed after his weight plummeted to under 5st, and he was admitted to hospital and fed through a tube amid fears he was at risk of heart failure.
Taylor Kerkham's weight plummeted to under five stone, but he is now recovering well and is pictured here with his mother Cheryl Stevens
Doctors said his circulation was so poor he faced losing his fingers and toes, but after months of medical attention and therapy he was allowed home.
Now back at school and enjoying food again, Taylor yesterday bravely spoke out about the little-known phenomenon of anorexia in boys.
Taylor's problems began when he started at secondary school weighing around 8st.
Taylor now eats normally - although he does not like large portions. He is pictured here recovering in hospital where his weight fell to under five stone
While he wasn't seriously bullied, 'jibes' about being overweight made him self-conscious.
'I was not fat but I was a bit chubby,' he said. 'Other children made comments and I wanted to be healthier, I wanted to lose weight.
'It started with watching TV, seeing programmes about healthy eating, and then I started to look up calories in recipe books and on the computer.'
Taylor set himself a target of eating just 1,500 calories a day - the recommended intake for a boy of his age is around 2,200 - but as his obsession deepened he slashed that to just 50.
He would scrutinise his 39-year-old mother Cheryl's cooking avidly, she explained yesterday.
'Every mealtime was a battleground. He would watch me cooking and then examine everything I was putting into the pan.
'He would shout if I added oil. He even pretended to drop his plate so that he wouldn't have to eat something he didn't like.
'He would give his food to the dog, he would hide it behind the sofa - we had to stay with him watching him all the time.'
Along with his father Simon, who works for an insulation firm, they took professional advice, removing mirrors around the family home in Stockport, Greater Manchester and taking the batteries from their bathroom scales.
But by last summer he had started to hallucinate, becoming convinced he was taking in calories from smelling other people's food and even perfume.
When his parents forced him to eat a biscuit he became hysterical, threatening to commit suicide.
'His strength of mind to pursue this was amazing, he was so determined,' said his 42-year-old father.
'He was not himself. He had always loved his food. It was frightening.'
After collapsing at school he had to be admitted to Stepping Hill Hospital where he was fed through a tube while his heart was monitored for fear it would fail.
Taylor, who needed a wheelchair to get around, was then moved to a child and adolescent mental health ward at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital where he spent the next six months.
Now weighing a healthy seven and a half stone, he has returned to lessons at Stockport School and enjoys playing table tennis and riding his BMX bike. His ambition is to become a zoologist.
'It is weird now, I can remember when I could only think about food and how I liked losing weight,' said Taylor, who has a 16-year-old brother, Jack.
'Talking about it now it seems like a long time ago, almost like it was another person.'
While he still doesn't like eating large portions of food, he derives motivation to eat a healthy diet by the desire to grow taller - he has gained an inch in the past two months, double his growth while in hospital.
Now his parents want to raise awareness that eating disorders can affect boys as well as girls.
'I think there's a lot of pressure on young boys today, they see all these images of male models and footballers and want to be like them,' his mother said.
'Also while the healthy eating campaigns by people like Jamie Oliver do a lot of good, they can make children think about weight loss in the wrong way.'
They are backing eating disorders charity Beat which says conditions like anorexia affect young boys disproportionately.
'Young children are influenced by unrealistic images of perfect bodies which makes them far more self-aware and liable to find fault with their appearance than in the past,' said spokeswoman Mary George.
'It's vital that parents seek medical advice as soon as possible if they're worried about their child.'
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