Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Time-Related Changes in Eating Disorders

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Eating Disorders

  • 883 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of changes in the trends of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) over time. The concepts of AN and BN have barely changed since they were incorporated into the operational diagnostic criteria in the 1980s. Epidemiological studies in Western countries have revealed increases in AN and BN since the 1930s and 1970s, respectively. Subsequently, AN has remained constant since around the 1970–1990s, although its incidence has increased among young women, whereas BN peaked around the 1990s and has since decreased. Further, compared to Western countries, reports from non-Western countries are insufficient in number and detail. Research participants with eating disorders (EDs) have expanded to include not only young women, but also men and middle-aged women. Further research is needed on EDs across global regions, cultures, genders, and ages.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 949.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 999.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Abbreviations

AN:

Anorexia nervosa

AN-BP:

Anorexia nervosa – binge/purging type

AN-R:

Anorexia nervosa – restricting type

BED:

Binge eating disorder

BMI:

Body mass index

BN:

Bulimia nervosa

BN-NP:

Bulimia nervosa – non-purging type

BN-P:

Bulimia nervosa – purging type

DSM:

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

ED:

Eating disorder

ICD:

International Classification of Diseases

References

  • Aillon JL, Ndetei DM, Khasakhala L et al (2014) Prevalence, types and comorbidity of mental disorders in a Kenyan primary health centre. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 49:1257–1268

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alfalahi M, Mahadevan S, Al Balushi R et al (2021) Prevalence of eating disorders and disordered eating in Western Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eat Disord. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2021.1969495

  • Ali K, Farrer L, Fassnacht DB et al (2017) Perceived barriers and facilitators towards help-seeking for eating disorders: a systematic review. Int J Eat Disord 50:9–21

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alvidrez J, Azocar F, Miranda J (1996) Demystifying the concept of ethnicity for psychotherapy researchers. J Consult Clin Psychol 64:903–908

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd edn revised. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen AE (1990) Males with eating disorders. Brunner/Mazel, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter AJ, Patton G, Scott KM et al (2013) Global epidemiology of mental disorders: what are we missing? PLoS One 8:e65514

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bell RM (1985) Holy anorexia. University of Chicago Press, Chicago/London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bemporad JR (1997) Cultural and historical aspects of eating disorders. Theor Med 18:401–420

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett D, Sharpe M, Freeman C et al (2004) Anorexia nervosa among female secondary school students in Ghana. Br J Psychiatry 185:312–317

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berkman JM (1930) Anorexia nervosa: anorexia, inanition and low basal metabolic rate. Am J Med Sci 180:411–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown TA, Forney KJ, Klein KM et al (2020) A 30-year longitudinal study of body weight, dieting, and eating pathology across women and men from late adolescence to later midlife. J Abnorm Psychol 129:376–386

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bruch H (1973) Eating disorders: obesity, anorexia nervosa, and the person within. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulik CM, Kleiman SC, Yilmaz Z (2016) Genetic epidemiology of eating disorders. Curr Opin Psychiatry 29:383–388

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Di Nicola VF (1990) Anorexia multiform: self-starvation in historical and cultural context: Part II: Anorexia nervosa as a culture-reactive syndrome. Transcult Psychiatr Res Rev 27:245–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Eddy KT, Hennessey M, Thompson-Brenner H (2007) Eating pathology in East African women: the role of media exposure and globalization. J Nerv Ment Dis 195:196–202

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feighner JP, Robins E, Guze SB et al (1972) Diagnostic criteria for use in psychiatric research. Arch Gen Psychiatry 26:57–63

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galmiche M, Déchelotte P, Lambert G et al (2019) Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000-2018 period: a systematic literature review. Am J Clin Nutr 109:1402–1413

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ghaderi A, Scott B (2001) Prevalence, incidence and prospective risk factors for eating disorders. Acta Psychiatr Scand 104:122–130

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gull WW (1873) Anorexia nervosa (apepsia hysterica, anorexia hysterica). Obes Res 5:498–502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Habermas T (2015) History of anorexia nervosa. In: Smolak L, Levine MP (eds) The Wiley handbook of eating disorders, assessment, prevention, treatment, policy, and future directions. Wiley, New York, pp 11–24

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hall A, Hay PJ (1991) Eating disorder patient referrals from a population region 1977–1986. Psychol Med 21:697–701

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harada T, Yamauchi T, Miyawaki D et al (2021) Anorexia nervosa restricting type has increased in severity over three decades: Japanese clinical samples from 1988 to 2018. Int J Eat Disord 54:54–58

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoek HW (2006) Incidence, prevalence and mortality of anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. Curr Opin Psychiatry 19:389–394

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoek HW (2016) Review of the worldwide epidemiology of eating disorders. Curr Opin Psychiatry 29:336–339

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoek HW, Bartelds AI, Bosveld JJ et al (1995) Impact of urbanization on detection rates of eating disorders. Am J Psychiatry 152:1272–1278

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson JI, Hiripi E, Pope HG Jr et al (2007) The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Biol Psychiatry 61:348–358

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ishikawa K, Iwata Y, Hirano G (1960) Studies on the symptoms and the pathology of anorexia nervosa. Psychiatr Neurol Japonica 62:1203–1221

    Google Scholar 

  • Jahromi SR, Abolhasani M, Bidadian M et al (2013) Comparison of obesity/psychological disorders comorbid between older and younger adult women. Psychology 4:1–3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Javaras KN, Runfola CD, Thornton LM et al (2015) Sex- and age-specific incidence of healthcare-register-recorded eating disorders in the complete Swedish 1979–2001 birth cohort. Int J Eat Disord 48:1070–1081

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kazim AA, Almarzooqi MS, Karavetian M (2017) The prevalence and determents of eating disorders among Emirati female students aged 14–19 years in Ajman, UAE. J Food Nutr Disord 6:2. https://doi.org/10.4172/2324-9323.1000222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keel PK, Forney KJ (2015) Prevalence and incidence of eating disorders in western societies. In: Smolak L, Levine MP (eds) The Wiley handbook of eating disorders, assessment, prevention, treatment, policy, and future directions. Wiley, New York, pp 51–63

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Keel PK, Klump KL (2003) Are eating disorders culture-bound syndromes? Implications for conceptualizing their etiology. Psychol Bull 129:747–769

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keski-Rahkonen A, Mustelin L (2016) Epidemiology of eating disorders in Europe: prevalence, incidence, comorbidity, course, consequences, and risk factors. Curr Opin Psychiatry 29:340–345

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keski-Rahkonen A, Hoek HW, Susser ES et al (2007) Epidemiology and course of anorexia nervosa in the community. Am J Psychiatry 164:1259–1265

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kodama Y, Yamauchi T, Tomoko H et al (2017) Some milder psychopathological manifestations of late-onset anorexia nervosa with short illness duration in Japanese population. Osaka City Med J 63:67–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolar DR, Rodriguez DL, Chams MM et al (2016) Epidemiology of eating disorders in Latin America: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Curr Opin Psychiatry 29:363–371

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kotilahti E, West M, Isomaa R et al (2020) Treatment interventions for severe and enduring eating disorders: systematic review. Int J Eat Disord 53:1280–1302

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lahortiga-Ramos F, De Irala-Estévez J, Cano-Prous A et al (2005) Incidence of eating disorders in Navarra (Spain). Eur Psychiatry 20:179–185

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Larrañaga A, Docet MF, García-Mayor RV (2012) High prevalence of eating disorders not otherwise specified in northwestern Spain: population-based study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47:1669–1673

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laségue (1997) On hysterical anorexia (a). 1873. Obes Res 5:492–497

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lo AL, Hsu LG, Vandereycken W (2012) Extreme fasting among Daoist priestesses of the Tang Dynasty: an old Chinese variant of anorexia nervosa? Hist Psychiatry 23:342–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas AR (1981) Toward the understanding of anorexia nervosa as a disease entity. Mayo Clin Proc 56:254–264

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas AR, Crowson CS, O’Fallon WM et al (1999) The ups and downs of anorexia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord 26:397–405

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Madden S, Morris A, Zurynski YA et al (2009) Burden of eating disorders in 5–13-year-old children in Australia. Med J Aust 190:410–414

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mangweth-Matzek B, Hoek HW, Pope HG Jr (2014a) Pathological eating and body dissatisfaction in middle-aged and older women. Curr Opin Psychiatry 27:431–435

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mangweth-Matzek B, Hoek HW, Rupp CI et al (2014b) Prevalence of eating disorders in middle-aged women. Int J Eat Disord 47:320–324

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mangweth-Matzek B, Kummer KK, Pope HG (2016) Eating disorder symptoms in middle-aged and older men. Int J Eat Disord 49:953–957

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-González L, Fernández-Villa T, Molina AJ et al (2020) Incidence of anorexia nervosa in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17:3824

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Melisse B, De Beurs E, Van Furth EF (2020) Eating disorders in the Arab world: a literature review. J Eat Disord 8:59. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-020-00336-x

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Micali N, Martini MG, Thomas JJ et al (2017) Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of eating disorders amongst women in mid-life: a population-based study of diagnoses and risk factors. BMC Med 15:12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-016-0766-4

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Milos G, Spindler A, Schnyder U et al (2004) Incidence of severe anorexia nervosa in Switzerland: 40 years of development. Int J Eat Disord 35:250–258

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchison D, Mond J, Slewa-Younan S et al (2013) Sex differences in health-related quality of life impairment associated with eating disorder features: a general population study. Int J Eat Disord 46:375–380

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morton R (1694) Phthisologia: or a treatise of consumptions. Smith & Walford, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray SB, Nagata JM, Griffiths S et al (2017) The enigma of male eating disorders: a critical review and synthesis. Clin Psychol Rev 57:1–11

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mustelin L, Silén Y, Raevuori A et al (2016) The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa may change its population prevalence and prognostic value. J Psychiatr Res 77:85–91

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nagata JM, Ganson KT, Murray SB (2020) Eating disorders in adolescent boys and young men: an update. Curr Opin Pediatr 32:476–481

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Nakai Y, Nin K, Noma S et al (2018) Changing profile of eating disorders between 1963 and 2004 in a Japanese sample. Int J Eat Disord 51:953–958

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nakai Y, Nin K, Goel NJ (2021) The changing profile of eating disorders and related sociocultural factors in Japan between 1700 and 2020: a systematic scoping review. Int J Eat Disord 54:40–53

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nasser M (1994) Screening for abnormal eating attitudes in a population of Egyptian secondary school girls. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 29:25–30

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls DE, Lynn R, Viner RM (2011) Childhood eating disorders: British national surveillance study. Br J Psychiatry 198:295–301

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pasternak Y, Weintraub AY, Shoham-Vardi I et al (2012) Obstetric and perinatal outcomes in women with eating disorders. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 21:61–65

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pike KM, Borovoy A (2004) The rise of eating disorders in Japan: issues of culture and limitations of the model of “Westernization”. Cult Med Psychiatry 28:493–531

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pike KM, Hoek HW, Dunne PE (2014) Cultural trends and eating disorders. Curr Opin Psychiatry 27:436–442

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Podfigurna-Stopa A, Czyzyk A, Katulski K et al (2015) Eating disorders in older women. Maturitas 82:146–152

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prince R (1985) The concept of culture-bound syndromes: anorexia nervosa and brain-fag. Soc Sci Med 21:197–203

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raevuori A, Keski-Rahkonen A, Hoek HW (2014) A review of eating disorders in males. Curr Opin Psychiatry 27:426–430

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raisanen U, Hunt K (2014) The role of gendered constructions of eating disorders in delayed help-seeking in men: a qualitative interview study. BMJ Open 4:e004342

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Reas DL, Rø Ø (2018) Time trends in healthcare-detected incidence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in the Norwegian National Patient Register (2010–2016). Int J Eat Disord 51:1144–1152

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Russell G (1979) Bulimia nervosa: an ominous variant of anorexia nervosa. Psychol Med 9:429–448

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryle J (1936) Anorexia nervosa. Lancet 228:893–899

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samuels KL, Maine MM, Tantillo M (2019) Disordered eating, eating disorders, and body image in midlife and older women. Curr Psychiatry Rep 21:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scholtz S, Hill LS, Lacey H (2010) Eating disorders in older women: does late onset anorexia nervosa exist? Int J Eat Disord 43:393–397

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheehan HL (1939) Simmonds’s disease due to post-partum necrosis of the anterior pituitary 1. Q J Med 8:277–309

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smink FR, Van Hoeken D, Hoek HW (2013) Epidemiology, course, and outcome of eating disorders. Curr Opin Psychiatry 26:543–548

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smink FRE, Van Hoeken D, Donker GA et al (2016) Three decades of eating disorders in Dutch primary care: decreasing incidence of bulimia nervosa but not of anorexia nervosa. Psychol Med 46:1189–1196

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinhausen HC, Jensen CM (2015) Time trends in lifetime incidence rates of first-time diagnosed anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa across 16 years in a Danish nationwide psychiatric registry study. Int J Eat Disord 48:845–850

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Suhail K, Zaib-u-Nisa (2002) Prevalence of eating disorders in Pakistan: relationship with depression and body shape. Eat Weight Disord 7:131–138

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Swartz L (1985) Anorexia-nervosa as a culture-bound syndrome. Soc Sci Med 20:725–730

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Treasure J, Duarte TA, Schmidt U (2020) Eating disorders. Lancet 395:899–911

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tseng MM, Tu CY, Hsieh SF et al (2020) Rates and trends in healthcare-detected incidence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: a national health insurance claim data study in Taiwan, 2002–2013. Int J Eat Disord 53:331–338

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Turnbull S, Ward A, Treasure J et al (1996) The demand for eating disorder care. An epidemiological study using the general practice research database. Br J Psychiatry 169:705–712

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Deth R, Vandereycken W (1995) Was late-nineteenth-century nervous vomiting an early variant of bulimia nervosa? Hist Psychiatry 6:333–347

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Eeden AE, Van Hoeken D, Hoek HW (2021) Incidence, prevalence and mortality of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Curr Opin Psychiatry 34:515–524

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Van Hoeken D, Burns JK, Hoek HW (2016) Epidemiology of eating disorders in Africa. Curr Opin Psychiatry 29:372–377

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Son GE, Van Hoeken D, Bartelds AI et al (2006) Time trends in the incidence of eating disorders: a primary care study in the Netherlands. Int J Eat Disord 39:565–569

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weissman RS (2019) The role of sociocultural factors in the etiology of eating disorders. Psychiatr Clin North Am 42:121–144

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Willi J, Grossmann S (1983) Epidemiology of anorexia nervosa in a defined region of Switzerland. Am J Psychiatry 140:564–567

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Willi J, Giacometti G, Limacher B (1990) Update on the epidemiology of anorexia nervosa in a defined region of Switzerland. Am J Psychiatry 147:1514–1517

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams H, Moxley K, Macharia M et al (2020) Eating disorders and substance use at a South African tertiary hospital over a 21-year period. S Afr J Psychiatry 26:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (1992) International classification of diseases for mortality and morbidity statistics (10th Revision)

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2021) International classification of diseases for mortality and morbidity statistics (11th Revision). https://icd.who.int/en. Accessed 1 Nov 2021

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan

    Tomoko Harada, Dai Miyawaki & Tsuneo Yamauchi

Authors
  1. Tomoko Harada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dai Miyawaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tsuneo Yamauchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tomoko Harada .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood B. Patel

  2. School of Life Course and Population Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK

    Victor R. Preedy

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Harada, T., Miyawaki, D., Yamauchi, T. (2023). Time-Related Changes in Eating Disorders. In: Patel, V.B., Preedy, V.R. (eds) Eating Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16691-4_13

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16691-4_13

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-16690-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-16691-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation