Demographics Some 30 million people in the U.S. suffer from an eating disorder (ED). The median age of onset of an eating disorder is age 12. About 95% of ED victims are between the ages of 12 and 25. Between 10% and 15% of people who have an ED are male. The number is higher for gay men. More than 20% of gay men are anorexic and 14% are bulimic. Some 11% of high-school students have an eating disorder. Between .5% and 3.7% of women will experience anorexia at some point in their lifetime. Between 1.1% and 4.2% of women will experience bulimia at some point in their lifetime. Mortality Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. An anorexic female age 15-24 is 12% more likely to die from the disease than from any other cause of death. Between 5% and 10% of anorexics die within 10 years of onset, and between 18% and 20% die within 20 years. Half of all anorexics say they never fully recover from the disease. The mortality rate for anorexia is 4.0%, 3.9% for bulimia, and 5.2% for eating disorder not otherwise specified. About 20% of anorexia sufferers will die prematurely from complications related to the disorder. More than half (53%) of those suffering from bulimia consider suicide, and more than one-third (35.1%) actually try to kill themselves. General Statistics About half of anorexics develop bulimia or bulimic tendencies. Anorexia is the third most common chronic disease for adolescents. Only 10% of people with eating disorders seek treatment. About 35% of those who seek treatment do so in a program specifically for eating disorders. About 80% of ED sufferers who seek treatment recover fully. The other 20% continue to struggle or die from the disease. In 2011, the National Institutes of Health spent $28 million on research into eating disorders. The NIH spent $450 million on Alzheimerâs disease and $276 million on schizophrenia. There 30 million people in the U.S. with an ED, 5.1 million with Alzheimer’s and 3.4 million with schizophrenia. About 25% of college-aged women binge and purge to control their weight.
