Children as young as eight years old are being admitted to hospitals for anorexia, ABC reported.

Dr. Sloane Madden of Westmead Children's Hospital in NSW have told the ABC that the children being admitted are conscious of their body shape and rejecting food to avoid gaining weight.

Anorexia is defined in Wikipedia as a significant decreased in appetite. In contrast, anorexia nervosa pertains to obsessive fear of gaining weight.

Dr. Madden said child admissions for various eating disorders have tripled in their hospital the past decade. Some of the children's lives were already at risk upon admission.

The head of the hospital's adolescent medicine department, Susan Towns, told ABC the children are developing poor eating habits due to what they see in various forms of media, all accessible to them at an early age.

"Media portrayal can affect the development of body image in young people," she said, adding that children are not able to interpret abstract concepts so they tend to take things in black and white when they see or hear anything about body image.

"By the age of 12 most children have their ideas about what's a desirable weight and shape," Dr. Madden noted.

The chair of the former National Body Image Advisory Group, Mia Freedman, says childhood obesity and anorexia are real concerns for parents, who have become too cautious about how to tell their children to eat properly. For instance, she herself would consciously stop from telling her kids to refrain from eating too much biscuits as they might get fat.

Ms. Freedman says the simple solution is to show the children how to live well and eat properly.

"Many parents make the mistake of telling their children that they're beautiful or whatever and then looking in the mirror and saying I'm so fat," she said, adding, "We've got to walk the talk as well."

Good nutrition is important to everyone's well-being. Experts advise that parents consult with their physician if their kids consistently showed lack of appetite.

As Ms. Freedman raised, a healthy eating habit is best explained by showing the children how it's done. Further, having regular family meals will help children and adolescent appreciate the food they eat.