health

There is some disagreement about the demographics of bulimia, partly
because the rules for diagnosing it have changed over time. The usual
figure given for bulimia in the United States is 1–3 percent of high
school- and college-age women. Many doctors think, however, that
bulimia is underdiagnosed because most people with the disorder are of
average weight or only slightly overweight. In addition, there are large
numbers of teenagers and young adults who have disordered eating patterns
but do not meet the full criteria for bulimia; there may be twice as
many young people in this second group as those who meet the full
DSM-IV definition.
The gender ratio is usually given as ten females to every one male
affected, but some people think that as many as 15 percent of bulimics
are male. Gay men appear to be at greater risk of developing bulimia than
heterosexual men.
At one time bulimia was thought to affect mostly Caucasian women,
but the rates among African American and Hispanic women have risen
faster than the rate of bulimia for the female population as a whole, at least
in the United States. Occupation appears to be a major risk factor for bulimia.
Women whose careers depend on appearance or a certain body build, such as
ballet dancers, models, and professional athletes, are reported to be four times
as likely to develop bulimia as women in the general population.