A Stoke-on-Trent schoolgirl who battled anorexia left her maths GCSE halfway through - after a question on calorie counting left her in a panic.
Isobel Colclough chose to leave the exam hall when the paper 'triggered' memories of when she used to obsessively add up how many calories were in the food she was consuming.
Now the 16-year-old, who competed the GCSE once a teacher helped her calm down, is considering putting in an official complaint.
She is among several pupils across the country who have complained that the question about how many calories a woman ate for breakfast was distressing for anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder, The Telegraph reports.
The question read: “There are 84 calories in 100g of banana. There are 87 calories in 100g of yogurt. Priti has 60g of banana and 150g of yogurt for breakfast. Work out the total number of calories in this breakfast."
Isobel told The Telegraph: "I read the question and it bought back so many memories of counting calories, it put me into a panic where I had to leave the room for about five minutes and a teaching assistant calmed me down.
"Then the teaching assistant persuaded me to go back into the room and I did manage to finish the exam but it stayed on my mind for quite a while after. For someone who has in the past been obsessed with counting calories, it definitely triggered memories of counting everything."
Following the concerns, Pearson, which owns the exam board EdExcel, carried out a review of the question and found it to be valid.
However, Pearson said that any student 'who thinks that this question may have impacted their performance' should make contact via their school.
It is not been revealed which school Isobel attends in Stoke-on-Trent.
Poppy-Willow Kent, a student from Colchester, wrote on Twitter: “I am sorry, but can I ask what on earth you were thinking by having a question around counting calories?
"Your exams are primarily taken by 15-20 year olds, who are also the age group most likely to suffer from eating disorder.”
Tom Quinn, a director at the eating disorder charity Beat, told The Telegraph that references to counting calories 'can be triggering' for anyone with or recovering from anorexia or similar conditions.
He said it can 'cause significant distress', adding that since young people are 'most at risk of these serious mental illnesses', exam boards should avoid such material.
A Pearson spokesman said: “In a maths exam taken last week, candidates were asked to solve a practical problem calculating the number of calories in a banana and a yogurt. We have reviewed the question and find it to be valid.
“We encourage any student who thinks that this question may have impacted their performance to get in contact with us via their school.
“We understand the summer exam series is a stressful time for students and we wish all students every success with their remaining exams.”
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