How did we get here?

“Eating disorders are complex conditions that can arise from a variety of potential causes. Once started, however, they can create a self-perpetuating cycle of physical and emotional destruction…”

-The National Eating Disorders Association

These are the Facts:

Americans spend over $40 billion a year on weight reduction services and products

Every day, nearly half of American women are on a diet

Every day, 25% of American men are on a diet

50% of 9 and 10-year-old girls claim to feel better about themselves when on a diet

35% of “normal dieters” become pathological dieters. 25% of those develop eating disorders

Age at Onset of Eating Disorders:

•86% report onset of illness by the age of 20
•10% report 10 years or younger
•33% report between ages of 11-15
•43% report between ages of 16-20

Eating Disorders affect large groups of people throughout the United States

5-10 million girls and women have eating disorders
1 Million boys and men have eating disorders
The number of people with eating disorders is three times the number of people with AIDS (664,921 people are living with AIDS)
Eating disorders affect as many people as does schizophrenia  (2.2 million people are living with schizophrenia)

With so many unrealistic images in the media, we fail to appreciate what is normal

*The average American woman is 5′4″ tall and weighs 140 pounds
*The average American model is 5′11″ tall and weighs 117 pounds
*Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women
*Almost half of first through third graders want to be thinner
*4 out of 5 ten year olds are afraid of being fat
*4 out of 5 American women dislike their physical form

* SOURCE: Mental Health Matters

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Mental Health, Science & Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.