What does an individual with an eating disorder appear like? The image may not be as straightforward as many assume. Scholars at Washington University in St. Louis conducted an innovative study with a crucial takeaway: Eating disorders do not show bias.

“There has been a notion that eating disorders primarily impact slender, white women,” stated Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences. “Our study involving college students challenges that misconception.”

The research, supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), assessed 29,951 students from 26 colleges and universities, including WashU. Two-thirds of the participants identified as female. The students responded to a series of inquiries concerning their health, encompassing mental health and their perspectives on food and body image.

Thirteen percent of those surveyed exhibited indications of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder — an unprecedented look into the scale of the issue on campus.

Crucially, the likelihood of eating disorders was relatively uniform across white, Black, Asian, and Latino students.

“Regardless of their racial or ethnic background, these students all exist within a culture that promotes or anticipates adherence to specific body ideals,” explained Fitzsimmons-Craft, who is also an associate professor of psychiatry at WashU Medicine. “These results indicate that eating disorders can affect anyone.”

Learn more on the Ampersand website.

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