What Causes Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders don’t discriminate, and occur in females and males, across all age groups, across all socioeconomic groups and cultural backgrounds. There is no single cause of an eating disorder but there are a number of risk factors which may trigger the development of disordered eating patterns. (BEAT 2017)

Risk factors include:

  • Body Image Pressures 
  • Trauma & Stress
  • Bullying 
  • Family/Relationship difficulties
  • Puberty
  • Abuse
  • Periods of Transition or Change
  • Perfectionism

Quick Facts - Did You Know

  • The number of reported cases of anorexia in young women between 15 and 19 has risen each decade since 1930.
  •  40% of new cases of anorexia are in girls between the ages of 15 and 19.
  •  Approximately 10-15% of anorexics or bulimics are male.
  •  35-57% of adolescent girls engage in crash dieting, fasting, self-induced vomiting, diet pills, or laxatives. 
  •  The heart rate of a person with anorexia might drop to lower than 60 beats a minute.
  •  Anorexia has the highest fatality rate of any mental illness.
  •  4 out of 10 individuals have either personally experienced an eating disorder or know someone who has.
  •  Of those suffering from an eating disorder, only 1 in 10 will seek treatment.