Eating disorder MHA
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Eating Disorders

📖 Definition

American Psychology Association defines eating disorders as

"any disorder characterized primarily by a pathological disturbance of attitudes and behaviors related to food, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Other eating-related disorders include pica and rumination, which are usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood."
References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Eating disorder. APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/eating-disorder

🎭 Emotional & behavioral signs & symptoms

  • Preoccupation with weight loss, food, calories, and dieting
  • Refuses to eat certain foods, and often eliminates whole food groups (carbohydrates, fats, etc.)
  • Makes excuses to avoid mealtimes or situations involving food
  • Develops food rituals (e.g., eating foods in certain orders, excessive chewing, rearranging food on a plate)
  • Withdraws from friends and previously pleasurable activities and becomes more isolated and secretive
  • Extreme concern with body size and shape
  • Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws in appearance
  • Extreme mood swings
References

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5-TR. American Psychiatric Association Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787

💪 Physical signs & symptoms

  • Noticeable fluctuations in weight, both up and down
  • Stomach cramps, other non-specific gastrointestinal complaints (constipation, acid reflux, etc.)
  • Menstrual irregularities — primary or secondary amenorrhea (not starting the menstrual cycle or the loss of the menstrual cycle) or only experiencing a period when taking hormonal supplements.
  • Difficulties concentrating
  • Abnormal laboratory findings (anemia, low thyroid and hormone levels, low potassium, low white and red blood cell counts) though some people with eating disorders do not have any laboratory abnormalities
  • Dizziness, especially upon standing
  • Fainting/syncope
  • Feeling cold all the time
  • Sleep problems
  • Cuts and calluses across the top of finger joints (a result of inducing vomiting)
  • Dental problems
  • Dry skin and hair, and brittle nails
  • Fine hair on body (lanugo)
  • Muscle weakness
  • Yellow skin (in context of eating large amounts of carrots)
  • Cold, mottled hands and feet or swelling of feet
  • Poor wound healing
  • Impaired immune functioning
References

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5-TR. American Psychiatric Association Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787

📊 Facts

  1. 9% of the US population, or nearly 31 million Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.
  2. The overall lifetime prevalence of eating disorders is estimated to be 8.60% among females and 4.07% among males.
  3. Global eating disorder prevalence increased from 3.5% to 7.8% between 2000 and 2018.
  4. 22% of children and adolescents worldwide show disordered eating.
  5. Despite the fact that individuals with higher body weight have a 2.45 times greater chance of engaging in disordered eating behaviors as patients of normal weight, such patients receive a clinical diagnosis of an eating disorder half as frequently as patients with normal weight or underweight.
  6. In a nationally representative US-based study, up to 23% of individuals with BED had attempted suicide, and virtually all (94%) reported lifetime mental health symptoms: 70% mood disorders, 68% substance use disorders, 59% anxiety disorders, 49% borderline personality disorder, and 32% posttraumatic stress disorder.
  7. Less than 6% of people with an eating disorder are medically underweight.
  8. Eating disorders have the second highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness behind opiate addiction.
  9. The most common eating disorder is Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) with a one-year prevalence of 1.18% for females and 0.27% for males.
  10. The most common eating disorder is Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) with a one-year prevalence of 1.18% for females and 0.27% for males.
  11. Anorexia nervosa often has its onset during adolescence or early adulthood and is associated with premature death due to medical complications or suicide.
  12. Individuals with bulimia nervosa are at a significantly increased risk for substance use, suicidality, and health complications.
References

National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Eating disorders. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/eating-disorders

  1. Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders. June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.
  2. Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders. June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.
  3. Galmiche, M., Déchelotte, P., Lambert, G., & Tavolacci, M. P. (2019). Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000-2018 period: a systematic literature review. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 109(5), 1402–1413. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy342
  4. López-Gil, J. F., García-Hermoso, A., Smith, L., Firth, J., Trott, M., Mesas, A. E., Jiménez-López, E., Gutiérrez-Espinoza, H., Tárraga-López, P. J., & Victoria-Montesinos, D. (2023). Global Proportion of Disordered Eating in Children and Adolescents. JAMA Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.5848
  5. Ramaswamy, N., & Ramaswamy, N. (2023). Overreliance on BMI and Delayed Care for Patients With Higher BMI and Disordered Eating. AMA Journal of Ethics, 25(7), E540-544. https://doi.org/10.1001/amajethics.2023.540
  6. Keski-Rahkonen A. (2021). Epidemiology of binge eating disorder: prevalence, course, comorbidity, and risk factors. Current opinion in psychiatry, 34(6), 525–531. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000750
  7. Flament, M. F., Henderson, K., Buchholz, A., Obeid, N., Nguyen, H. N., Birmingham, M., & Goldfield, G. (2015). Weight Status and DSM-5 Diagnoses of Eating Disorders in Adolescents From the Community. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(5), 403–411.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2015.01.020
  8. Arcelus, Jon et al. “Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. A meta-analysis of 36 studies.” Archives of general psychiatry 68,7 (2011): 724-31. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.74
  9. Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders. June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.
  10. Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders. June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.
  11. World Health Organization. (n.d.). Mental disorders. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders

🎋 Facts/stats about AAPI with eating disorders

  1. 9% of the US population, or nearly 31 million Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.
  2. The overall lifetime prevalence of eating disorders is estimated to be 8.60% among females and 4.07% among males.
  3. 3.Global eating disorder prevalence increased from 3.5% to 7.8% between 2000 and 2018.
  4. 22% of children and adolescents worldwide show disordered eating.
  5. Despite the fact that individuals with higher body weight have a 2.45 times greater chance of engaging in disordered eating behaviors as patients of normal weight, such patients receive a clinical diagnosis of an eating disorder half as frequently as patients with normal weight or underweight.
  6. In a nationally representative US-based study, up to 23% of individuals with BED had attempted suicide, and virtually all (94%) reported lifetime mental health symptoms: 70% mood disorders, 68% substance use disorders, 59% anxiety disorders, 49% borderline personality disorder, and 32% posttraumatic stress disorder.
  7. Less than 6% of people with an eating disorder are medically underweight.
  8. Eating disorders have the second highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness behind opiate addiction.
  9. The most common eating disorder is Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) with a one-year prevalence of 1.18% for females and 0.27% for males.
  10. The most common eating disorder is Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) with a one-year prevalence of 1.18% for females and 0.27% for males.
  11. Anorexia nervosa often has its onset during adolescence or early adulthood and is associated with premature death due to medical complications or suicide.
  12. Individuals with bulimia nervosa are at a significantly increased risk for substance use, suicidality, and health complications.
References
  1. National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Eating disorders. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/eating-disorders
  2. Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders. June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.
  3. Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders. June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.
  4. Galmiche, M., Déchelotte, P., Lambert, G., & Tavolacci, M. P. (2019). Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000-2018 period: a systematic literature review. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 109(5), 1402–1413. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy342
  5. López-Gil, J. F., García-Hermoso, A., Smith, L., Firth, J., Trott, M., Mesas, A. E., Jiménez-López, E., Gutiérrez-Espinoza, H., Tárraga-López, P. J., & Victoria-Montesinos, D. (2023). Global Proportion of Disordered Eating in Children and Adolescents. JAMA Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.5848
  6. Ramaswamy, N., & Ramaswamy, N. (2023). Overreliance on BMI and Delayed Care for Patients With Higher BMI and Disordered Eating. AMA Journal of Ethics, 25(7), E540-544. https://doi.org/10.1001/amajethics.2023.540
  7. Keski-Rahkonen A. (2021). Epidemiology of binge eating disorder: prevalence, course, comorbidity, and risk factors. Current opinion in psychiatry, 34(6), 525–531. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000750
  8. Flament, M. F., Henderson, K., Buchholz, A., Obeid, N., Nguyen, H. N., Birmingham, M., & Goldfield, G. (2015). Weight Status and DSM-5 Diagnoses of Eating Disorders in Adolescents From the Community. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(5), 403–411.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2015.01.020
  9. Arcelus, Jon et al. “Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. A meta-analysis of 36 studies.” Archives of general psychiatry 68,7 (2011): 724-31. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.74
  10. Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders. June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.
  11. Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders. June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.
  12. World Health Organization. (n.d.). Mental disorders. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders

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*Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical or mental health advice. Please consult a licensed professional for guidance specific to your situation.