Rising incidence of eating disorders
Ruhai Bai and colleagues at the Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University in China published findings in JAMA Psychiatry on Wednesday regarding the global incidence of eating disorders. The research team used statistical models to fill in data gaps and estimate the annual incidence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa for each of 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2023. Between 1990 and 2023, the incidence of these two specific eating disorders rose 71%. These conditions had a massive impact on global health, and in 2023, they cost the world the equivalent of 3.83 million years of healthy life, according to Bai. The study reached these conclusions by pulling data from studies and surveys conducted on populations around the world. Anorexia nervosa is defined by a fear of weight gain, while bulimia nervosa is defined by people who binge and purge. Binge eating disorder is another condition where eating behaviors impact health.
Clinicians report GLP-1 misuse
Clinicians report that GLP-1 weight-loss drugs exacerbate the eating disorder issue. Cheri Levinson, a clinical psychologist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky who has specialized in eating disorders for almost 20 years, says she sees more patients with severe symptoms than at any other time in her career. Levinson says many of her patients misuse GLP-1s. "This is the worst I’ve seen things," Levinson says. I find the fact that these biotech breakthroughs may trigger such mental health crises to be a disgrace. Eating disorders are mental health conditions where eating behaviors impact health. While some people have a genetic predisposition to certain eating disorders, external factors like stress or social pressure to be skinny often trigger their onset. Simply restricting food intake can also trigger an eating disorder. The number of cases is likely higher than current reports suggest once you factor in other eating disorders. The researchers emphasized that their estimates for anorexia and bulimia across 204 countries and territories were based on statistical models designed to fill in data gaps from global surveys. Levinson, who has worked with patients for two decades, notes that the symptoms she sees are increasingly severe.
Scale of the crisis
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Study period | 1990 to 2023 |
| Countries and territories included | 204 |
| Increase in anorexia and bulimia | 71% |
| 2023 healthy life years lost | 3.83 million |
The research by Ruhai Bai focused on the impact of these conditions through disability-adjusted life years. One DALY means a year of healthy life lost. The increase in anorexia and bulimia occurred over three decades, spanning from the 1990s to 2023. During the 1990s, eating disorders and the pressure to look thin were already prevalent. The incidence of these disorders is rising alongside the use of GLP-1 drugs, which are considered one of the largest biotech breakthroughs of the last decade. The team in China estimated the impact of these disorders by calculating the annual incidence in 204 different countries and territories. This research period from 1990 to 2023 captured the evolution of these mental health conditions across the globe. The study specifically looked at how these conditions affected the world’s health by calculating the years of healthy life lost due to these disorders. The findings show that the annual incidence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa grew significantly over the thirty-three year period.
