Eating Disorders: an Equal Opportunity Phenomenon
Not Just Teens
Eating disorders have earned a stereotype as an affliction of teenaged white girls; but a new survey, published by Self Magazine in May 2008, finds that 3 out of every 4 American women have disordered eating habits.
The magazine, in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found that 65% of American women between the ages of 25-45 report abnormal eating behaviors with an additional 10% reporting symptoms of such eating disorders as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. This means that a total of 75% of American women have distorted behaviors, thoughts, and feelings when it comes to food and their bodies.
Cuts Across Racial and Ethnic Divides
According to Cynthia R. Bulik, Ph.D., William and Jeanne Jordan Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders in the UNC School of Medicine's department of psychiatry and director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program, "Our survey found that these behaviors cut across racial and ethnic lines and are not limited to any one group. Women who identified their ethnic backgrounds as Hispanic or Latina, white, black or African American and Asian were all represented among the women who reported unhealthy eating behaviors."
Also a professor of nutrition in the School of Public Health, Bulik, along with study co-author Lauren Reba-Harrelson, reported that a high number of women engage in purging activities. A surprising total of more than 31% of women in the survey reported having induced vomiting, or taken laxatives, diuretics, or diet pills at some point in an effort to lose weight.
While the types of disordered eating behaviors reported in the survey don't have to result in life-threatening diseases such as bulimia or anorexia, the 4,023 participants in the study reported significant emotional and physical distress connected to these behaviors, feelings, and thoughts. Also, contrary to our perceived notion about who has eating issues, the survey uncovered the fact that women in their 30s and 40s are no different from teens when it comes to disordered eating, since rates remain the same in both populations.
Other findings include:
67% of women are on a diet
53% of dieters are already at a healthy weight
39% say that food and weight issues interfere with their happiness
37% engage in regular meal skipping to lose weight
27% say they'd be "extremely upset" by a 5 pound weight gain
26% cut entire food groups from their diets
16% have subsisted on 1000 calories a day or less
13% smoke to lose weight
12% often eat when not hungry; 49% sometimes do