Common Questions about Eating Disorders
Craig Johnson, Ph.D.
Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital, Tulsa, OK

Who Is Most at Risk for Developing an Eating Disorder?
Although anyone can develop an eating disorder, the most common victims are adolescent or young adult females from middle- to upper-socioeconomic classes in Westernized cultures. Following are the most common risk factors for developing an eating disorder:

* Working, or aspiring to work, in a field that places high emphasis on thinness -- such as acting, modeling, ballet or gymnastics.

* Previous history of being overweight or being teased about weight, resulting in dieting behavior.

* Family history of eating disorders, weight consciousness, alcoholism, depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

* Low self-esteem, high achievement expectations, perfectionism, social insecurity and difficulty identifying and expressing feelings.

* For anorexia: personality characteristics that include being overly cautious, fearful of change, hypersensitive and orderly.

* For bulimia: personality characteristics that include being impulsive, disorganized, easily bored, and inclined to take risks or to pursue novel situations.

* Families that lean too much toward being either overprotective and controlling, or disengaged and uninvolved.

* History of physical, sexual or significant relational trauma.

* A large discrepancy between how individuals present themselves to others and how they actually feel about themselves.

* Difficulty identifying and/or verbalizing feelings, particularly anger.