It found 53 per cent of sufferers said they first developed a problem with food aged 10 or younger. Only 29 per cent said they were 11 to 15 when their anorexia began.
A spokesman for the support group said: "Some might find the results of the survey shocking. But, as our members have underlined, it is not uncommon for us to see people who developed an eating disorder before they reached their teens."
Only three per cent of sufferers quizzed blamed their anorexia on size zero models and slim pop stars.
More than half said family traumas such as divorce or the loss of a loved one triggered their condition.
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