| Facts and Figures |
| Only 5 to 10% of all anorexia and bulimia cases are men. The vast majority of all cases of eating disorders are white people. Most people find it very difficult to stop being bulimic or anorexic. There were 67 deaths from anorexia in 1988. Key chemical messengers in the brain may contribute to the disorders development or persistent . Approximately one-third of bulimic patients regularly engage in shoplifting One-fourth of bulimic patients have suffered from alcohol abuse or addiction at some point in their lives. The normal food intake for teenagers is 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day, while a bulimic binges an average of 3,400 calories in one and a quarter hours. Some bulimic consume up to 20,000 calories in binges lasting up to eight hours. Some bulimic spend fifty dollars a day or more on food. Bulimic that use laxatives fifty to one hundred tablets at a time compared to the two that you are supposed to use. The incidents of anorexia among eight to eleven year olds is said to been increasing rapidly over the past few years. Anorectics usually acquire food habits such as moving food on the plate, cutting food into tiny pieces, and not eating with family or friends. When normal fat padding is lost in anorectics, sitting or lying down brings discomfort, not rest, making sleep difficult. Anorectics usually try to isolate themselves from friends and family because of shame. An estimated 78% of adolescent girls wish to weigh less. The mortality rate for anorexic patients is reported to be 6% The average American woman is five feet four inches and weighs 140 pounds. The average American woman wears a size 14 dress. The "Barbie" or "Ideal Woman" you see kids playing with, in life would be five feet seven inches and weigh 100 pounds. She would wear a size 8 dress. One-Third of all American women wear a size 16 or larger. Three-Quarters of American women do not like or are dissatisfied with their appearance. Half of the American women are on a diet at any one time. Between 90% and 99% of weight reducing seats fail to produce permanent weight loss. Two-Thirds of dieters regain the weight they lose, in one year. Almost all regain it in five years. The diet industry (diet foods, programs, drugs, etc.) takes over $40 billion each year and it is still growing. Quick weight loss schemes are among the most common consumer dissatisfaction of any service industry. Young Girls are more afraid of becoming fat then of nuclear war, cancer, or losing their parents. 50% of nine year old girls and 80% of 10 year old girls have dieted. 90% of high school junior and senior women diet regularly, although only 10 to 15% are over weight recommended by doctors. 1% of teenage girls and 5% of college aged women become anorexic, or bulimic. (Please do not fall to that level. If you are having trouble, go to a psychiatrist, they can and will help you beat your fears and problems!) Anorexia has the highest mortality rate, 20% of any psychiatric diagnosis. Girls develop eating and self-image problems before drug or alcohol problems. There are drug and alcohol programs in almost every school but no eating disorders programs. There were a reported 67 deaths from Anorexia Nervosa in 1988 alone. Jane Fonda revealed her secret bulimia habits that she had had since she was 12 years old until her recovery at age 35! She told of bingeing and purging up to 20 times a day Approximately 1/3 of bulimia patients regularly engage in shoplifting Approximately 1/4 of bulimia patients have suffered from alcohol abuse or addiction at some point in their lives. The late recording artist, Karen Carpenter, was an Anorexic who used syrup of ipecac to induce vomiting, died after buildup of the drug irreversibly damaged her heart. An estimated 78 percent of adolescent girls wish to weigh less The mortality for anorexia is reported to be 6% Half of Anorexia patients who require a hospital stay relapse within a year. Cases of eating disorders have doubled over the past decade Anorexia is most common in white, 15-24 year old women 1/3 of obese patients may have the binge eating disorder According to a Newsweek article, in 1988, America spent $33 billion on diets and diet-related products. To put this number in perspective, make comparison: to achieve his number one priority, President Bush allocated $7.9 billion to the war on drugs in 1989. (Taken from the National AnorexicAid Society Newsletter, April-June, 1991) As dieting and the relentless pursuit to be thin translates into methods of fasting, self induced vomiting, laxative abuse and diuretic abuse, a growing number of adolescents are developing eating disorders. The prevalance of eating disorders amoung junior high and high school is approximately 10%. (JADA 1992; 92:306-312) The prevalance of eating disorders in the community is estimated at 7%. (Fairburn, C. from phone interview 1992) Experts say they see no end to the diet industry's continued growth due to its best customer - the professional female dieter. North American models weigh 23% less today then the average female weight. Research has found that by the age of 18, 80% of females are or have been actively dieting. Up to 77% of female students assessed were actively trying to lose weight. 16% of 1,200 students assessed from the Cleveland State University survey were actively vomiting to counter weight gain. A recent survey by the Center for Disease Control reveled that in 11,600 8th through 10th graders, 34% were actively using dieting pills, 23% were actively vomiting to reduce weight and 61% of the girls and 28% of the boys were actively dieting to lose weight. In the early 1970's a survey of teenagers found that only about 6% were worried about their body weight. While a survey in the 1980's found that 31% of the teenagers (both boys and girls) were worried that they weight too much. In another recent study of almost 500 San Francisco school girls, mostly from middle income families, 81% of the 10-year-olds reported that they had already dieted at least once. |
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