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Anorexia Nervosa Statistics
Anorexia Prevalence
- It is estimated that 1.0% to 4.2% of women have suffered from anorexia in their lifetime.[1]
Anorexia Mortality Rates
- Anorexia has the highest fatality rate of any mental illness.[2]
- It is estimated that 4% of anorexic individuals die from complications of the disease[3]
Access to Anorexia Treatment
- Only one third of individuals struggling with anorexia nervosa in the United States obtain treatment.[4]
Bulimia Nervosa Statistics
Bulimia Prevalence
- It is estimated that up to 4% of females in the United States will have bulimia during their lifetime[5].
Bulimia Mortality Rates
- 3.9% of these bulimic individuals will die.[ 6]
Access to Bulimia Treatment
- Of those practicing bulimia, only 6% obtain treatment[7].
Binge Eating Disorder Statistics
- 2.8 % of American adults will struggle with BED during their lifetime. Close to 43% of individuals suffering from Binge Eating Disorder will obtain treatment[8].
Binge Eating Disorder Mortality Rates
- 5.2% of individuals suffering from eating disorders not otherwise specified,[9] the former diagnosis that BED, among other forms of disordered eating) was included in under the DSM-IV) die from health complications.
Access to Binge Eating Treatment
- Close to 43% of individuals suffering from Binge Eating Disorder will obtain treatment.[10]
General Statistics on Eating Disorders
- Eating disorders are a daily struggle for 10 million females and 1 million males in the United States.[11]
- Four out of ten individuals have either personally experienced an eating disorder or know someone who has.[12]
Over a lifetime, the following percentages of women and men will experience an eating disorder:
Female Eating Disorder Prevalence Rates
- .9% of women will struggle with anorexia in their lifetime
- 1.5% of women will struggle with bulimia in their lifetime
- 3.5% of women will struggle with binge eating
Male Eating Disorder Statistics
- .3% of men will struggle with anorexia
- .5% of men will struggle with bulimia
- 2% of men will struggle with binge eating disorder [13]
Prevalence Rates of Eating Disorders in Adolescents
- The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 2.7% of teens, ages 13-18 years old, struggle with an eating disorder.[14]
Student Eating Disorder Statistics
- 50% of teenage girls and 30% of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives to control their weight.[15]
- 25% of college-aged women engage in bingeing and purging as a method of managing their weight.[16]
Prevalence of eating disorders among athletes
- 13.5% of athletes have subclinical to clinical eating disorders[22]
- 42% of female athletes competing in aesthetic sports demonstrated eating disordered behaviors[16]
Dieting Statistics and Prevalence
- Over 50% of teenage girls and 33% of teenage boys are using restrictive measures to lose weight at any given time.[17]
- 46% of 9-11 year-olds are sometimes, or very often, on diets, and 82% of their families are sometimes, or very often, on diets).[18]
- 91% of women recently surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, 22% dieted often or always.[19]
- 95% of all dieters will regain their lost weight in 1-5 years.[20]
- 35% of normal dieters progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% progress to partial or full-syndrome eating disorders.
- 25% of American men and 45% of American women are on a diet on any given day.[21]