Family is at the core of recovery

"Each time I returned home, the first thing blurted from my mother's mouth was 'How much do you weigh now?', which made me tremble. I stopped going home for family gatherings during festivals," says the woman using the alias "Little A".

Family support is crucial in treatment. Parents observe how their child begins to recover the normal order of eating supervised by doctors and nurses in a hospital and continue the practice once they go home.

Chen says that patients have a fixed timetable for eating each day during hospitalization. They have three meals and two snacks each day.

"Patients sit at the same table to eat. Medical workers won't mention anything about eating while they're dining so they don't feel extra pressure," Chen says. "But if they fail to finish the food, nurses will give them nutrients equivalent to that of the leftover food."