Diagnoses of eating disorders, active component service members, U.S. Armed Forces, 2013-2017

During 2013-2017, a total of 1,788 active component service members received incident diagnoses of one of the eating disorders: anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) or "other/unspecified eating disorder" (OUED). The crude overall incidence rate of any eating disorder was 2.7 cases per 10,000 person-years. Of the case-defining diagnoses, OUED and BN accounted for 46.4% and 41.8% of the total incident cases, respectively. The overall incidence rate of any eating disorder among women was more than 11 times that among men. Overall rates were highest among service members in the youngest age groups (29 years or younger). Crude annual incidence rates of total eating disorders increased steadily between 2013 and 2016, after which rates decreased slightly. Results of the current study suggest that service members likely experience eating disorders at rates that are comparable to rates in the general population, and that rates of these disorders are potentially rising among service members. These findings underscore the need for appropriate prevention and treatment efforts in this population.