Eating disorders are a widespread and dangerous issue in the U.S., affecting approximately 25 million Americans, predominantly young women. These disorders lead to high mortality rates and long-lasting physical and emotional damage, yet are often challenging to diagnose and treat due to various contributing factors. Increased public awareness and education on early signs and effective interventions are crucial to address this epidemic.

1. Eating disorders: confronting an epidemic
While attention to eating disorders has increased in recent years, the illness remains one
of the most common, dangerous and least understood in the United States. The numbers
are truly staggering: An estimated 25 million Americans, many of themadolescents, suffer
from eating disorders. Ninety percent of them are women between the ages of 12 and 25,
though eating disorders do not discriminate by gender, age or ethnic background. More
than one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use such unhealthy
weight control behaviors as skipping meals, fasting, vomiting, and taking laxatives.
If those numbers were linked to cancer or other well-documented medical condition,
alarm bells would be ringing. But eating disorders are complicated, easy to hide, and
difficult to diagnose or treat. And while scattered media coverage has helped raise public
consciousness in recent years, awareness of the depth and scope of eating disorders
remains relatively low. Ironically, few people are aware that the last week in February
marks National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, an annual event that draws attention
to this sweeping problem.
Eating disorders can be lethal. So lethal, in fact, that anorexia nervosa has a higher
mortality rate among young women than any other cause of death, and eating disorders
account for more fatalities in the U.S. than any other mental illness. And those statistics
obscure a more dramatic number, as many deaths resulting from eating disorders are
officially attributed to suicide, organ failure and other fatal complications that stem
directly from destructive eating behaviors.
The physical and emotional damage from eating disorders extends well beyond a fatal
outcome, however. Physical debilitation, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and social
withdrawal can last for years and have devastating personal and professional
consequences. This is especially true for young people whose bodies and minds are still
in their formative stages. Early intervention and treatment – before a person becomes
sick enough to be hospitalized – is therefore crucial to gain control of an eating disorder
and limiting its long-term harm.

2. That may sound simple, but it’s not. Identifying eating disorders poses multiple
challenges, and their causes differ from person to person. Genetic, biological, behavioral,
psychological, and social factors can all contribute to the development of an eating
disorder, which in turn can manifest in various ways that include both restrictive and
binge eating. Young men and women are constantly bombarded with messages about
dieting, maintaining low weight and unrealistic body size in order to be successful, and
peer pressure contributes to this perception. Resisting these messages is hardest for
teenagers trying to find their place in the world.
Because symptoms cross both medical and psychological lines, few high schools or
universities can employ the cumulative expertise needed to deal with the many cases that
cross their paths, and many go unrecognized. Even when a medical professional is able
to diagnose an eating disorder, limitations in the health-care system pose further
obstacles to recovery. Very few treatment centers specifically geared to young people
with eating disorders exist in the U.S. Effective treatment requires time and is best
achieved with a multi-disciplinary, team approach, but insurance coverage is often
inadequate to cover the costs. In fact, studies have found that only one in ten women and
men with eating disorders receive treatment.
In this context, increased public awareness offers the only immediate answer. Parents,
teachers, coaches, and peers must become more knowledgeable about eating disorders as
well as how and when to intervene. Recognizing the early warning signs and debunking
myths about eating disorders will lessen the fear and stigma associated with them. Online
resources produced by the National Eating Disorders Association and other advocacy
groups provide readily accessible information that can serve as a foundation for action.
We must all work together to stem the tide of this national affliction.
Stacie McEntyre, MSW, LCSW, CEDS
President and Chief Executive Officer, Veritas Collaborative
Veritas Collaborative is a comprehensive treatment facility in Durham, NC, specializing in the
treatment of eating disorders for adolescents. For more information visit www.veritascollaborative.com