Content Warning: Please be aware that this blog contains discussion of suicide, mortality rates, and other potentially sensitive content.

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Content Warning: Please be aware that this blog contains discussion of suicide, mortality rates, and other potentially sensitive content. 〰️

It’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week (EDAW)!

What is that you ask? EDAW is an annual, week-long event created by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) that is meant to shed light on eating disorders. During this week, thousands of events take place all over the country, both in person and virtually. Each year, NEDA associates a theme with the week, and this year's theme is “It's Time For Change.” EDAW 2023 is described as “an opportunity to center on lived experiences and eating disorder education, which are the essential catalysts for awareness and change.” This week is meant to highlight different resources, education, and support for eating disorder recovery in hopes to bring more awareness to this topic. It is very important to bring more light and focus on this topic in order to give eating disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery the coverage and awareness that they need and deserve.

Eating disorders are mental illnesses that cause a person to experience severe disturbances in regard to eating behaviors, emotions, and thoughts about eating and food. They are also extremely deadly mental illnesses, second only to opioid overdose, with a standardized mortality ratio (deaths per 1000 person-year) of 5.9 for anorexia nervosa (AN) and 1.9 for both bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). The reason that eating disorders are so deadly is due to the fact that they typically coincide with other co-morbidities, including bipolar, depressive, and anxiety disorders. These coexisting conditions increase the risk of functional impairments, distress, suicide attempts, substance abuse, and morbidity, when compared to people without an eating disorder. In fact, it is estimated that about 26% of people with eating disorders attempt suicide. Thus, if it's not the eating disorder itself leading to mortality, it can oftentimes be due to the associated coexisting conditions associated with eating disorders.

Eating disorders affect about 9% of the American population, which equates to roughly 28.8 million Americans who will develop an eating disorder within their lifetime and 10,200 deaths each year. The onset of eating disorders is typically in early adolescence for anorexia nervosa and in young adulthood for bulimia nervosa. Although stereotypes characterize people with eating disorders as living in smaller bodies, less than 6% of people with eating disorders are medically diagnosed as “underweight.”

In fact, research suggests that 77% of people with an eating disorder will never be diagnosed within their lifetime due to weight stigma, racism, general lack of knowledge, and stereotypes.

Stereotypes regarding what types of people develop an eating disorder contribute to the disparity in diagnosing and treating those who live in larger bodies, are people of color, and are non-affluent.

Did you know that BIPOC and people living in larger bodies are 50% less likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder or receive treatment for an eating disorder compared to white people living in smaller bodies? When compared to white people, black adolescents are 50% more likely to engage in binging and purging and are also less likely to be diagnosed with anorexia, even if they experience symptoms and behaviors for much longer. Asian American college students have reported some of the highest rates of restriction, purging, muscle building, and cognitive restraint when compared to non-Asian, BIPOC, or white people. Additionally, although research shows eating disorder symptoms and diagnoses are much more common among females, who have a 2.9% baseline lifetime prevalence for any threshold eating disorder, compared to males, who have a 0.1% prevalence, it is important to note the lack of research and potential for lack of men and nonbinary populations to come forth and discuss any ED symptoms and diagnoses due to fear of stigma. Also, historically, males are excluded from research studies and treatment trials for eating disorders and make up less than 1% of research participants to date. Men are simply more likely to be disregarded and overlooked for signs and symptoms of an eating disorder due to their gender.

In addition to the stigma and stereotypes attached to eating disorders, there is also an immense lack of understanding when it comes to eating disorders.

Most people are never asked by their doctors about the signs and symptoms of an eating disorder, which causes people to go undiagnosed and leads to providers overlooking or diminishing these signs and symptoms.

Most providers are not thoroughly trained in eating disorders, especially when it comes to anything other than the dangerous weight loss that only happens in some cases of eating disorders. Missed signs and symptoms occur with every type of eating disorder. However, binge eating disorder is particularly susceptible to being overlooked. A study among college students revealed that anorexia was more likely to be diagnosed (73%) compared to binge eating disorder (7%). This exemplifies how poorly most providers are trained at detecting eating disorders, since binge eating disorder has recently been shown to be the most common eating disorder. When faced with someone who does not present as being “underweight”, most providers are quick to suggest “healthy eating” and weight loss to “fix” someone's problems with eating, body concerns, and mental health, as opposed to having the appropriate training to effectively diagnose, treat, and support that person. Many people struggle with the idea that their eating disorder is not “bad enough” or that they are not “sick enough” to receive care. When providers are not trained properly to diagnose or recognize the signs and symptoms of an eating disorder this can further perpetuate these harmful thoughts and make the eating disorder worse and cause the person to lose hope in ever getting better.

Furthermore, there are many misconceptions about why some people develop an eating disorder in the first place. Although we are unable to say that there is a particular cause to an eating disorder, many different factors, including biological, psychological, and social factors, can increase the risk of developing one. Many people assume that an eating disorder is a choice or that it was caused by something specific. However, eating disorders can be hereditary. In particular, someone with a relative with anorexia is 11 times more likely to develop anorexia than those without genetic ties. About 28-74% of the risk for anorexia, 60% of the risk for bulimia, and 39-45% of the risk for binge eating disorder is due to genetics.

On top of genetics, body image concerns can start at a very young age and can contribute to the development of an eating disorder.

One of the best known social factors that can contribute to developing an eating disorder is societal idealization of thinness.

Numerous studies have exemplified that poor body image, related to societal and familial expectations, can begin as young as five to seven years old. One study found that a mother's own body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness negatively impacted her children’s body image perceptions. Another study suggests that children as young as five years old perceive thinner people to be happier than larger people.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders:

Also, according to the National Eating Disorders Association:

Many people experiencing eating disorders feel that it can be helpful to understand how their eating disorder evolved in order to heal that part of themself. However, we may sometimes never know the answer to this question or be able to pinpoint exactly where it stems from, which may feel incredibly frustrating and invalidating. On the other hand, knowing how an eating disorder evolved is not needed to receive proper treatment. My goal in presenting you with the facts, figures, and risk factors of developing an eating disorder is to leave you feeling empowered. If you or someone you know may have an eating disorder, but are unsure of where to look for help, I highly recommend reaching out to us here at Feed and Flourish for support to receive the care you need and deserve.

Please check out these resources if you'd like to learn more about diagnosing and treating eating disorders, and also how to seek help and support:

References:

Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2023

Content Warning: Please be aware that this blog contains discussion of suicide, mortality rates, and other potentially sensitive content.

〰️

Content Warning: Please be aware that this blog contains discussion of suicide, mortality rates, and other potentially sensitive content. 〰️

It’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week (EDAW)!

In fact, research suggests that 77% of people with an eating disorder will never be diagnosed within their lifetime due to weight stigma, racism, general lack of knowledge, and stereotypes.

Most people are never asked by their doctors about the signs and symptoms of an eating disorder, which causes people to go undiagnosed and leads to providers overlooking or diminishing these signs and symptoms.

One of the best known social factors that can contribute to developing an eating disorder is societal idealization of thinness.