• At least five million women are affected by some symptoms of an eating disorder
  
• Five to 10 percent of young women are affected
  
• The number of men with an eating disorder has more than doubled in the last 10 years
  
• Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two most common eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are really two sides of the same coin. Both start with a desire to change weight or shape.

Since the 1950s, western industrialized nations have increasingly defined attractiveness in terms of thinness. Reported cases of anorexia and bulimia nervosa for Canada, U.S. and Europe including U.K. have increased several-fold in recent decades. In the United States, adult weight in both sexes decreases as social class increases. About 75 percent of American women think they are fat, but only about 25 percent are overweight.

Abnormal eating behaviors are typically caused by a combination of factors, including:

• Social norms promoting thinness
  
• Personality vulnerabilities
  
• Distortions of perceived appearance
  
• Overvaluing the benefits of weight or shape change
  
• Dieting itself, especially at critical stages of development
  

Together, these forces can lead to self-sustaining eating disorders including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Abnormal eating behaviors that begin as a response to calorie restriction gradually become coping mechanisms for problems in self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and mood regulation. The earlier an eating disorder is diagnosed, the better the patient will do. The potential complications from an eating disorder can include:

• Death from severe malnutrition
  
• Electrolyte abnormalities
  
• Suicide in depressed patients
  

About Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa

Atypical Eating Disorders

Nutritional Assessment

Awareness and Prevention

The Toilet Paper Publication