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Prevalence of eating disorders: a comparison of Western and non-Western countries
Mariko Makino1, Koji Tsuboi, Lorraine Dennerstein
1Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan.
Objective:
To compare the prevalence of eating disorders between Western and non-Western countries.
Method:
Potential references were identified through an English-language literature search using Medline and Medscape articles.
Results:
Prevalence rates in Western countries for anorexia nervosa ranged from 0.1% to 5.7% in female subjects. Prevalence rates for bulimia nervosa ranged from 0% to 2.1% in males and from 0.3% to 7.3% in female subjects in Western countries. Prevalence rates in non-Western countries for bulimia nervosa ranged from 0.46% to 3.2% in female subjects. Studies of eating attitudes indicate abnormal eating attitudes in non-Western countries have been gradually increasing.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of eating disorders in non-Western countries is lower than that of the Western countries but appears to be increasing.
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