Eating Disorders

Dieting Statistics

• 91 percent of women surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting.
  • 22 percent dieted "often" or "always"
• 25 percent of college-aged women engage in binging and purging as a weight-management technique.
• In a survey of 185 female students on a college campus:
  • 58 percent felt pressure to be a certain weight
  • Of the 83 percent that dieted for weight loss, 44 percent were of normal weight
• An estimated 2 to 5 percent of Americans experience binge-eating disorder in a 6-month period.

Consequences

The consequences of eating disorders can be severe:

• 1 in 10 cases lead to death by starvation
• Eating disorders can cause cardiac arrest
• Those with eating disorders are more likely to attempt suicide

Fortunately, increasing awareness of the dangers of eating disorders, sparked by medical studies and extensive media coverage of the illness, has led many people to seek help.

Nevertheless, some people with eating disorders refuse to admit they have a problem and do not get treatment. Family members and friends can help recognize the problem and encourage the person to seek treatment.

Causes

In trying to understand the causes of eating disorders, scientists have studied the personalities, genetics, environments, and biochemistry of people with these illnesses. As is often the case, the more that is learned, the more complex the roots of eating disorders appear to be.

Although there is a clear correlation between the portrayal of the "ideal" body in the media and eating disorders, it is not clear why some at-risk individuals develop eating disorders and others do not.

Get Help

There are many different types of eating disorders with many different warning signs. If you fall into any of these descriptions for eating disorders, do not hesitate to contact your physician or a counselor.

If you have friends who might have an eating disorder, please encourage them to seek help — you may save a life!

Last Reviewed: October 2013