Average Age Of Eating Disorders Is Getting Younger

The age at which people are developing eating disorders is getting younger, a study by a leading charity says.
Beat, a UK organization which supports people with eating disorders, posted a question on their website asking people suffering from anorexia and bulimia at what age they started having problems with food.
Around 20% of those who responded said they were 11 or younger when they first had problems and the youngest was just six years old.
Georgie, 12, became anorexic last summer. “I remember playing tennis and one of my friends said, ‘You’ve lost weight, you look really good’ and I was thrilled,” she said. “I wanted more friends. I thought if I was thinner people would like me more.” Georgie admits at her worst, she wanted to kill herself.
“I self harmed and I felt suicidal,” she said. “My parents took all of the locks off the doors so I couldn’t go in and attempt suicide. It just felt like the only option sometimes.”
Other ED Facts:
• One half of 4th grade girls are on a diet.
• The average US woman is 5’4” and weighs 140 pounds. In contrast, the average US model is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds.
• 51% of nine and ten-year-old girls stated they felt better about themselves when they were adhering to a diet.
• One out of three women and one out of four men are on a diet at any given time.
• Four out of five US women are dissatisfied with their appearance.
• 81% of ten-year-old girls are afraid of being fat.
• A study found that adolescent girls were more fearful of gaining weight than getting cancer, nuclear war or losing their parents.