FACTS ABOUT EATING DISORDERS AND BODY IMAGE

• Eating disorders in America affect approximately:
            -Seven million women
            -One million men

• Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.

• Progressively younger and younger children are affected by eating disorders and the prevalence in males and other cultures.

• Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents.

• An estimated 25% of people with anorexia or bulimia are male.

• An estimated 1.5 to 5 percent of women have bulimia nervosa in their lifetime.

• Most models are thinner than 98% of American women

• 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight after looking at magazine pictures.

• 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape.

• 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat.

• About 50% of people who have had anorexia develop bulimia or bulimic patterns.

(Sources: Screening for Mental Health, National Eating Disorders Association)

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