The Missouri Eating Disorders Council observed kids as young as five years old can show early signs of an eating disorder.

A Harvard study revealed that the total economic cost to treat people with eating disorders in Missouri is $1.2 billion.

"Ten percent of the population will deal with an eating disorder over the course of their lifetime," said Annie Seal from the Missouri Eating Disorders Council. "And yet, it's one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized of all the mental illnesses."

Seal said treating eating disorders, especially in kids and young teens, can be difficult because the behaviors associated with the illnesses can be mistaken for other healthy activities.

Activities like dieting, exercise, and weight loss are all encouraged behaviors in the right contexts.

Even when an eating disorder is discovered and diagnosed, the level of treatment needed is not always readily available in the Show-Me State.

"We started doing a study around the state and found really no integrated treatment available anywhere outside Kansas City and St. Louis which means rural Missourians were disproportionally unable to get some kind of treatment. at all," Seal said.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, around 28 million people in the U.S. will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime.

Seal, and other behavioral health professionals are looking to help spread awareness of eating disorders, while also providing resources to treat them.

"I feel like we are actually now leading the nation in awareness and growing resources for this illness," Seal said. "We've been at it for ten years and we've to date have trained over 500 behavioral health care professionals and we've put almost 5,000 people through our online program."