How Common Are Eating Disorders?

Quality statistics are hard to come by.  The general figure given out, in both Britain and the USA, is that about 10% of people are suffering from an eating disorder at any one time.  90% are female.

American research suggests that up to 17% of high school girls may be suffering from some sort of eating disorder at any one time.  This breaks down to as many as 1% having anorexia, 1-3% with bulimia, and 2-13% with other abnormal eating behaviours (including binge eating).  The American studies also suggest that 5-10% of adult women (post adolescence) may have an eating disorder.  

Boys and men also suffer from eating disorders, although the incidence is much less common.  Accurate numbers are hard to come by here, too, not least because men are even less forthcoming than women about asking for help. Men seem to make up only about 10% of sufferers, and about 20% of these men self-identify as gay.