Food insecurity
Food insecurity is defined as inadequate access to sufficient food, both in terms of quantity and quality, in direct contrast to food security, which is conceptualized as having access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet dietary needs and preferences. Notably, levels of food security exist on a continuum from reliable access to food to disrupted access to food. Multiple studies have found food insecurity to be associated with eating pathology. A study conducted on individuals visiting a food bank in Texas found higher food insecurity to be correlated with higher levels of binge eating, overall eating disorder pathology, dietary restraint, compensatory behaviors and weight self-stigma. Findings of a replication study with a larger, more diverse sample mirrored these results, and a study looking at the relationship between food insecurity and bulimia nervosa similarly found greater food insecurity to be associated with elevated levels of eating pathology. Trauma
One study has found that binge-eating disorder may stem from trauma, with some female patients engaging in these disorders to numb pain experienced through sexual trauma. Heterosexism
Some eating disorder patients have implied that enforced heterosexuality and heterosexism led many to engage in their condition to align with norms associated with their gender identity. Families may restrict womens food intake to keep them thin, thus increasing their ability to attain a male romantic partner. Mechanisms
Biochemical: Eating behavior is a complex process controlled by the neuroendocrine system, of which the Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal-axis (HPA axis) is a major component.
Of individuals with bulimia about 2 persons per 1000 persons die per year and among those with EDNOS about 3.3 per 1000 people die per year. Epidemiology
In the developed world, binge eating disorder affects about 1.6% of women and 0.8% of men in a given year. Anorexia affects about 0.4% and bulimia affects about 1.3% of young women in a given year. Up to 4% of women have anorexia, 2% have bulimia, and 2% have binge eating disorder at some point in time. Anorexia and bulimia occur nearly ten times more often in females than males. Typically, they begin in late childhood or early adulthood. Rates of other eating disorders are not clear. Rates of eating disorders appear to be lower in less developed countries.In the United States, twenty million women and ten million men have an eating disorder at least once in their lifetime. Anorexia
Rates of anorexia in the general population among women aged 11 to 65 ranges from 0 to 2.2% and around 0.3% among men. The incidence of female cases is low in general medicine or specialized consultation in town, ranging from 4.2 and 8.3/100,000 individuals per year. The incidence of AN ranges from 109 to 270/100,000 individuals per year. Mortality varies according to the population considered. AN has one of the highest mortality rates among mental illnesses. The rates observed are 6.2 to 10.6 times greater than that observed in the general population for follow-up periods ranging from 13 to 10 years. Standardized mortality ratios for anorexia vary from 1.36% to 20%.