Common Types of Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
- Approximately 1 percent of adolescent girls develop anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death.
- The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate associated with all causes of death for females 15 to 24 years old.
- An estimated 0.5 to 3.7 percent of women suffer from anorexia nervosa in their lifetime.
- 20 percent of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems
Bulimia Nervosa
- Another 2 to 3 percent of young women develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of overeating followed by vomiting or other "purging" behaviors to control their weight.
- About 50 percent of people who have had anorexia develop bulimia or bulimic patterns.
Other common eating disorders include exercise bulimia and binge eating. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently.