The young women who go to Bali to die: Inside the desperately sad trend of anorexia sufferers fleeing to paradise to 'starve in peace' away from their worried families

Frangipani trees, rice paddies, temples and beaches: on the surface, Bali seems like paradise found. As well as being one of the most popular overseas travel destinations for Aussies on holiday, it's a siren song for those looking for a new place to settle, far from home.

More than 100,000 expats call the Indonesian island home, with the past decade representing a 500 per cent increase in the amount of foreign nationals moving to Bali. Now its coastal enclaves are peppered with 'digital nomads' taking advantage of the tropical lifestyle and low cost of living while they work on chasing their dreams, creating their vibe, and finding themselves.

But it's not all açai bowls, yoga and Instagram updates. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, model and entrepreneur Lindy Klim, who is a member of the island's royal family, said she'd noticed a worrying trend during her many years living there. 'This is generalising of course, but a lot of people in Bali are running from something,' the 45-year-old said.

'There are a lot of mental health issues there. The amount of women living with anorexia I see in Bali is unbelievable - because they can go there, they can hide. Lindy Klim, who now goes by Lindy Rama-Ellis, is part of the Balinese royal family. Having lived there for many years, she's noticed a worrying trend people who move there from Australia.

'There is no family member or anybody who is going to get them help, and so they can just live there alone, and eventually maybe die, and that's what happens.'. Klim, who now goes by Lindy Rama-Ellis, spent the first years of her life in Bali after being born into Balinese royalty, and more recently returned to Melbourne after a several-year stint living in Canggu with her family.

'There is no care,' she continued. 'There's nobody to pull them up on things, and they live this really lonely existence, because that's what you want when you're that unwell.'. While there is little data available on the rates of eating disorders among Australians living in Bali, experts say that isolation from friends and family is a known risk factor.

'Eating disorders thrive in isolation and secrecy,' says Sarah Cox, clinical psychologist and manager of the Butterfly Foundation National Helpline. 'Research demonstrates that feeling lonely and isolated can contribute to increased body dissatisfaction, weight and shape concerns and contribute to the development of an eating disorder or a relapse/worsening of existing symptoms.

'It can be common for people to hide their eating disorder's behaviours by eating in private, avoiding meals with other people or withdrawing from social interactions.'. Sinead Maccana is recovered from the eating disorder she lived with in her teens - but as the leader of a Bali run club, she sees many women who are 'dangerously thin'.

Within the expat community, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that living a certain lifestyle in Bali can be the 'perfect storm' for people with mental health issues, particularly those living with an eating disorder. 'When you're in Bali, specifically in Canggu, it feels like nine out of ten people will have a miniscule body fat percentage,' says Sinead Maccana, an Australian woman living in Bali who leads the RISE&RUN run club.

'In order to have that physique, there are certain types of activities and behaviours that you need to be doing, and while that doesn't necessarily mean you have an eating disorder, there are certainly a lot of people engaging in extreme forms of exercise and diet.'.

Maccana knows better than most exactly what the warning signs can be. At just 10 years old, she developed anorexia, spending the following five years receiving treatment in and out of hospital. And while she was able to develop a healthier relationship with food and her body through treatment, she admits that sometimes old patterns can be triggered, making it more difficult to navigate in the context of the body-focused Canggu community.

'There is a lot of focus on fitness and beauty here, which creates this surreal standard where it is very normal for people to wake up, run a half-marathon, then do a Hyrox class, then wind down in the evening with some Pilates. 'Some people here genuinely think that is a normal amount of activity to do in one day, because often they're unencumbered by regular working schedules or family commitments.'.

The 27-year-old personal trainer often sees dangerously thin members of the expat community who are engaging in worrying behaviours around food and exercise. Maccana says extreme diets are normal in Bali, as are severe approaches to 'holistic wellness'.

'There've been a few people that have come to my run club, and it does pose a bit of an ethical concern for me,' she says. 'You think, how do I bring this conversation up? Do they even know that they're sick? Because often they're quite clearly, visually sick.'.

And herein lies another element in the 'perfect storm' of risk factors: in Bali, severe approaches to 'holistic wellness' are commonplace. 'Extreme diets are super normal, so it would be easy for people to not eat in social settings,' explains Maccana.