Consequences of eating disorders

Each year millions of people in the US are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majority – more than 90% - of those afflicted with eating disorders are adolescent and young women.

The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. One in ten cases of Anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, other medical complications or suicide. Patients with Anorexia can suffer damage to vital organs such as the heart and brain.

While many people are aware of the physical side of the disease, many fail to realize that many also suffer from other psychiatric illnesses… ranging from clinical depression, anxiety, personality or substance abuse disorders and many are at risk of suicide.

An eating disorder is more than just disordered eating. The symptoms are just the tip of the iceberg, concealing underneath them a host of feelings and thoughts the person may have hidden or ignored, perhaps for years. Most people with an eating disorder have a painfully intense sense of themselves as inadequate, unworthy and inferior. Sometimes they are aware of these feelings. Sometimes they are not. They push these strong and painful feelings away with frantic behavior and a preoccupation with food and weight.

All of this takes real teamwork between the patient and the therapist. However, there really is hope for people struggling with an eating disorder. Although it often appears to be a perplexing and frustrating problem, it can be defeated! It may take time. It will certainly require courage to change. But the freedom and contentment that accompany successful treatment make all the hard work worth it.

In a 1990 study, undertaken by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), of senior students in 20 high schools in 18 states, it was found that eleven percent of young people surveyed suffer from either anorexia nervosa or bulimia. A majority is female, but a significant number are males.

For downloadable documents about eating disorder symptoms and eating disorder statistics, see our “Getting Treatment” section.