Time to Address Eating Disorder Risk Among Medical Students

This narrative review examines the prevalence and potential key causes of eating disorder risk among medical students across countries and training environments. Medical students frequently demonstrate a higher prevalence of eating disorder risk compared to the general population. Rates vary by instrument, geography, stage of training, and sample composition. Recurrent correlates include female gender, body image dissatisfaction, perfectionism, stress, anxiety, depression, lack of physical activity and problematic social media use. The review also highlights important methodological limitations in the literature, including predominantly cross-sectional design, heterogeneous screening tools, inconsistent reporting of all variables, limited longitudinal follow-up, and sparse inclusion of gender-diverse populations. Overall, the evidence supports eating disorder risk as an important medical student wellness issue while also showing that no single factor fully explains the observed burden. The findings support systemic changes in universities to help prevent eating disorders, including better student health education, confidential services and prioritizing student wellness. Longitudinal research is urgently needed to clarify modifiable risk factors as they relate to chronic stress in medical school and inform targeted prevention strategies.