The Health and Welfare Ministry will set up a nationwide network of medical centers within three years to treat eating disorders such as anorexia and hyperorexia, ministry officials said.

Japanese medical institutions have found themselves unable to efficiently treat those suffering from eating disorders due to the drastic increase in the number of patients.

The government is now determined to deal with eating disorders by establishing a network of medical centers nationwide, with the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry's Kohnodai Hospital in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, serving as the hub.

In addition to offering treatment, the centers will conduct research and offer specialized training, according to officials.

Eating disorders are mainly seen among teenage girls, although their cause is not yet fully understood. Cures are easier to achieve when treatment is provided early, but in some cases the disorders can go untreated for long periods of time.

Medical institutions, however, often back away from treating patients of the disorders because there is a severe shortage of doctors specializing in the field, according to the ministry.

The ministry plans to set up a network between national hospitals across Japan, based on a similar system in the United States and Europe, which divides nations into regional blocs and designates a key hospital and special medical institutions in each region, the officials said.

Depending on each patient's condition, they will introduce a suitable institution within the region, or create a team of doctors, nurses and clinical psychologists from the various institutions to deal with individual patients' requirements.