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Statistics: How many people have eating disorders? II

September 2nd, 2005

* Binge eating disorder

A recent study reported in Drugs and Therapy Perspectives reports that about one percent of women in the United States have binge eating disorder, as do thirty percent of women who seek treatment to lose weight. In other studies, up to two percent, or one to two million adults in the U.S., have problems with binge eating.

* Eating disorders and substance abuse

About 72% of alcoholic women younger than 30 also have eating disorders. (Health magazine, Jan/Feb 2002)

* What about compulsive exercising?

Because anorexia athletica is not a formal diagnosis, it has not been studied as rigorously as the official eating disorders. We have no idea how many people exercise compulsively.

* Body dysmorphic disorder (includes muscle dysmorphic disorder)

Not yet an official diagnosis, but may achieve that status soon. BDD affects about two percent of people in the U.S. and strikes males and females equally, usually before age eighteen (70% of the time). Sufferers are excessively concerned about appearance, body shape, body size, weight, perceived lack of muscles, facial blemishes, and so forth. In some cases BDD can lead to steroid abuse, unnecessary plastic surgery, and even suicide. BDD is treatable and begins with an evaluation by a mental health care provider.

* Subclinical eating disorders

We can only guess at the vast numbers of people who have subclinical or threshhold eating disorders. They are too much preoccupied with food and weight. Their eating and weight control behaviors are not normal, but they are not disturbed enough to qualify for a formal diagnosis.

* Eating disorders in Western and non-Western countries

In a study reported in Medscape’s General Medicine 6(3) 2004, prevalence rates in Western countries for anorexia nervosa ranged from 0.1% to 5.7% in female subjects. Prevalence rates for bulimia nervosa ranged from 0% to 2.1% in males and from 0.3% to 7.3% in female subjects.

Prevalence rates in non-Western countries for bulimia nervosa ranged from 0.46% to 3.2% in female subjects. Studies of eating attitudes indicate abnormal eating attitudes in non-Western countries have been gradually increasing, presumably because of the influence, at least in part, of Western media: movies, TV shows, and magazines. Researchers conclude that the prevalence of eating disorders in non-Western countries is lower than that of Western countries, but it appears to be increasing.

Entry Filed under: eating disorders

Binge Eating Disorder Athletes with eating disorders I