Eating Disorders; not just for Teens

If you think that eating disorders only affect teenagers, trying to fit in with the cheerleader crowd, your so wrong! At one time, eating disorders were thought to be the domain of young, Caucasian girls. Today, experts know that they can affect all ages, ethnicities, and genders. What they don't know is morbidity-to what degree the disorder occurs within specific populations. Estimates of how many people in the United States have an eating disorder range from five to ten million, according to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), and the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD). The New England Journal of Medicine reported in 1999 that more than half of all people with eating disorders are not diagnosed. With a diagnosis, there can be no treatment. The longer an eating disorder continues without treatment, the more likely it is to result in death.