Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders: Anorexia Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majority are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescents girls develop anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other ' purging ' behaviors to …

…of understanding and encouragement to stay in treatment. NIMH continues its search for new and better treatments for eating disorders. Congress has designated the 1990's as the ' Decade of the Brain, ' making the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of all brain and mental disorders a national research priority. This research promises to yield even more hope for patients and their families by providing a greater understanding of the causes and complexities of eating disorders.