eating disorders?

What is known about eating disorders?
Many things about eating disorders aren't fully understood, but we do know the following:

Eating disorders have been around for centuries

Diets don't cause eating disorders, but research has shown young women who diet at a severe level are 18 times more likely to develop an eating disorder than those who don't and those who diet at a moderate level are five times more likely

Severe psychological problems, such as obsessive compulsive behaviour and depression, increase the risk of developing eating disorders

How common are they?

The most common form of disordered eating is obesity

Eating disorders include a range of different conditions where people have an abnormal attitude towards food, altered appetite control and unhealthy eating habits that affect their health and ability to function normally. The most common form of disordered eating is obesity, which affects more than one in ten people.

Bulimia nervosa, or binge eating and purging, is twice as common as anorexia.

Men and boys also have eating disorders, but less often than girls or women.

What are the causes?
Families often blame themselves, but they shouldn't. None of the research shows much difference between the ways that families of anorexics work compared with other families.

The causes of eating disorders are complex. They're probably the result of several factors, including:

A genetic tendency
Learned responses and habits, especially to stress
Cultural and social pressures, for example to be slim
Psychological factors, such as perfectionism and lack self-esteem, although it's not known whether this is a cause or effect of disorders