Causes & Statistics

Eating Disorders are chronic conditions with an identifiable progression and predictable symptoms.

Causes of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders like Anorexia, Bulimia or Compulsive Overeating are complex diseases and not just a condition that can be treated with willpower. They meet the definition of a disease because, like other diseases, they have a particular destructive process for an individual, with a specific cause (that cause can be either known or unknown), and display characteristic symptoms. All eating disorders are primary diseases and not the secondary result of some other disorder. They are chronic conditions with an identifiable progression and predictable symptoms. Eating disorders arise out of the combination of genetic, sociological, and psychological factors. Read More››

Eating Disorder Statistics

Each year, millions of people in the United States succumb to potentially life threatening eating disorders. Estimates of people afflicted with Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa in the United States range from 2% to 6%. This implies that between 5 and 16 million people suffer from these disorders. As many as 25 million more individuals suffer from Binge Eating Disorder. Approximately 90% of those afflicted with these eating disorders are women. The potentially fatal disease, Anorexia Nervosa, occurs within the population at approximately .5% to 2%. Estimates for the occurrence of Bulimia Nervosa range from 1% to 4% of the population. Read More››

Media Influence

The influence of the media on the proliferation of eating disorders such as Anorexia, Bulimia or Compulsive Overeating cannot be refuted. From an early age we are bombarded with images and messages that reinforce the idea that to be happy and successful we must be thin. Today, you cannot read a magazine or newspaper, turn on the television, listen to the radio, or shop at the mall without being assaulted with the message that fat is bad. The most frightening part is that this destructive message is reaching kids. Adolescents often feel fatally flawed if their weight, hips, and breasts don’t match up to those of models and actors. Read More››