Eating Disorders in White and Black Women

Reprinted from Eating Disorders Review
May/June 2004 Volume 15, Number 3
©2004 Gürze Books

In the U.S., studies of eating disorders have largely focused on white women and girls. As a result, the incidence of eating disorders among ethnic minority groups is still unknown, according to Dr. Ruth Striegel-Moore and colleagues (Am J Psychiatry 2003;160:1326).

Dr. Striegel-Moore and colleagues examined the prevalence of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder in a community sample of young white and black women who had previously participated in the 10-year National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLB) Growth and Health Study. A two-stage case-finding method was used, which involved a telephone screening, followed by an in-person diagnostic interview.

Eating disorders were more common among white women

A total of 86% of the original NHLBI Growth and Health Study participants responded, including 985 white women (mean age: 21.3 years) and 1,061 black women (mean age: 21.5 years). Among those who responded, 15 white women (1.5%) but no black women met lifetime criteria for anorexia nervosa. More white women than black women (2.3% vs. 0.4%, respectively) met the criteria for bulimia nervosa. Binge eating disorder was also more common among white women (27, or 2.7%) than black women (2.7% vs.1.4%, respectively). Few women, white or black, had ever received treatment for an eating disorder.

According to the researchers, the results suggest that eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are more common among white women than among black women. The low treatment rates in both groups suggest that all healthcare professionals need to be more alert to the possibility of eating disorders among all women, regardless of ethnicity.

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