Many of us don’t know much about eating disorders. Some people don’t think they’re a real concern. Some people joke about them. The fact is that 10,200 deaths each year are the direct result of eating disorders. That’s about one death every 52 minutes.

This past week was Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and it’s a great time to resolve to raise awareness and know how to help.

While there are different types of eating disorders, a basic definition is they are illnesses associated with severe disturbances in people’s thoughts and emotions that cause changes in their eating behaviors. Some different eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.

Other important facts about eating disorders may be surprising. Eating disorders have the second-highest mortality rate among all psychiatric illnesses. Hospital admissions for adolescents with eating disorders have more than doubled since the pandemic. Over 29 million Americans, 9% of the U.S. population, will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime.

Eating disorder sufferers with the highest symptom severity are 11 times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers without eating disorder symptoms. Even those with less severe symptoms are two times more likely to attempt suicide. Patients with anorexia have a risk of suicide that is 18 times higher than those without an eating disorder. The economic cost of eating disorders in the United States is $64.7 billion yearly.

With these statistics in mind, it is no wonder that the month of February is set aside each year as Eating Disorder Awareness Month, and that this year, the week of Feb. 26 through March 3, was named Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

Some people might say, “Just eat in a healthy way. It’s easy.” However, eating disorders are very complex and recovering is anything but easy. In fact, about 70% of people with eating disorders also have other conditions, most often anxiety and mood disorders. Thus, the disorders go far beyond body image and adolescent girls’ desire to be thin, as many people believe.

Actually, eating disorders can and do affect people of any gender. Men represent about 25% of people with eating disorders, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Any person, at any stage of life, can struggle with an eating disorder.

These are a few signs that someone may be experiencing a problem: refusal to eat certain foods, excessive exercise, avoiding situations involving food, eating rituals, dressing in layers or baggy clothing, frequent mirror checks, extreme mood swings, and preoccupation with weight loss, food, calories and dieting.

Symptoms can include dizziness, fainting, feeling excessively cold, dental problems, muscle weakness, stomach cramps, menstrual irregularities, sleep problems, yellow skin, poor wound healing and impaired immune functioning.

There is so much more to write about the seriousness and complexity of eating disorders but only limited space. Raising awareness is an important step in the work of decreasing eating disorders and helping people to get the help that is needed.

Hope is important too – and there is hope for healing. As awareness increases, so do treatment options and ways to find support.

If you or someone you know is in need of help or support, call the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline at 866-662-1235 or text 741-741. Visit AllianceforEatingDisorders.com, anad.org and nationaleatingdisorders.org for more information.

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