Eating Disorders - Facts About Eating Disorders

Facts About Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are most often when people are in their teenage years and are feeling inssecure. Here is some information on eating disorders that every teen should know.

* The most recognized eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is characterized by starvation dieting, excessive exercising, weight below what is considered normal, and an intense fear of weight gain. Bulimia is characterized by intense fear of weight gain and episodes of dieting and bingeing, as well as purging of the food from the body by vomiting or emetic use, fasting, dieting, diuretics, diet pills, excessive and compulsive exercise.

* 90-95% of all anorexics and bulimics are women. Women are more likely to suffer from depression and low self-esteem, accompanying body image dissatisfaction, then men. Low self-esteem has been found to be related to body image dissatisfaction and various eating disorders/disturbances. America, which has the greatest number of women to make it into the male sphere, also leads the world in female anorexia (Wolf, 1992).

* The American Anorexia and Bulimia Association states that 1000 American women die of anorexia each year.

* 15% of young women in the US (who aren't diagnosed with an eating disorder), display substantially disordered eating attitudes and behavior, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. 5-10% of girls and women after puberty (5-10 million) and 1 million boys and men.

* In 1998, according to the American Medical Association, eating disorders rank as the third most common illness among adolescent females in the US with an estimated prevalence of 4%.

* Population studies indicate that 63% of high school girls and 16% of boys report dieting to lose weight. Within one year 35% of normal dieters progress to pathological dieting, 20-30% of all pathological dieters progress to full or partial eating disorders. Of those 30- 40% develop full disorders within four years. AMA policy asks that its members help their patients to avoid obsession with dieting, and to develop individualized approaches to find their own optimal weight.