National Statistics for Children and Adolescents:

• A 2011 nation-wide study approximated that half a million U.S. teens between 13-18 have some form of an eating disorder
  • Binge-eating disorder (BED) is the most common, affecting more than 1.5 percent of kids studied
  • BED often leads to obesity
• 50% of girls between the ages of 11 and 13 see themselves as overweight
• 80% of 13-year-olds have attempted to lose weight
• 40% of newly identified cases of anorexia are in girls 15-19 years old
• Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents
• 95% of individuals with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25

Obesity rates among all children and teens in the United States is on the rise, and originates in preschool and in low-income families (Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey)

• Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2 - 19 years old are obese
• Since 1980, obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has almost tripled
• 1 of 7 low-income, preschool-aged children is obese

 

National Statistics for Adults:

(2007) Lifetime prevalence of eating disorders estimates are:

• Anorexia Nervosa (AN): .9% for women, .3% for men
• Bulimia Nervosa (BN): 1.5% for women, .5% for men
• Binge eating disorder 3.5% for women, 2% for men

People often shift their eating disorders over time and about 30% of patients change from AN to BN (2005) Obesity is common, serious and costly, with more than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults have obesity. -National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

• The prevalence of obesity was higher in women (38.3%) than in men (34.3%).
• Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death.
• The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who have obesity were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.