Eating Disorders
affect large groups of people throughout the United States.
- 5-10 million adolescent girls and
women struggle with eating disorders and borderline conditions.
- 1 Million boys and men struggle with
eating disorders and borderline conditions.
- The number of people with eating disorders
and borderline conditions is triple the number of people
living with AIDS (664,921 people are living with AIDS).
- Eating disorders affect at least three
times as many people as schizophrenia does (2.2 million
people are living with schizophrenia).
The acceptance of natural beauty is compromised
by the lack of diverse body types in the media.
- The average American woman is 5'4"
tall and weighs 140 pounds. 4
- The average American model is 5'11"
tall and weighs 117 pounds. 4
- Most fashion models are thinner than
98% of American women. 4
- Almost half of American elementary
school students between the 1st and 3rd grades want to be
thinner. 5
- 4 out of 5 children at the age of
ten years old are afraid of being fat. 6
- 4 out of 5 American women are dissatisfied
with their appearance. 4
Calorie restriction and other common
dieting practices can lead to serious health consequences including
eating disorders.
- Almost half of American women are
on a diet on any given day. 4
- 1 in 4 men are on a diet on any given
day. 4
- Half of 9 and 10-year-old girls feel
better about themselves if they are on a diet. 5
- 35% of "normal dieters"
progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 1 in 4 will
progress to partial or full syndrome eating disorders. 7
- Americans spend over $40 billion on
dieting and diet related products each year. 4
1 Crowther et al., 1992; Fairburn et al., 1993; Gordon, 1990;
Hoek, 1995; Shisslak et al., 1995. 2 US Department of Health
and Human Services, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report 1998 3 Treatment
Advocacy Center, 1999 4 Smolak, 1996. 5 Mellin et al., 1991.
6 Collins, 1991. 7 Shisslak & Crago, 1995.
