A Global Overview of Eating Disorders

Over the course of the past 75 years, there has been a steady increase in awareness and understanding of eating disorders. Beginning in the twentieth century with a focus on young women from high-income countries in North America, Western Europe, and countries with significant populations of Western, Caucasian descent, the lens of eating disorders research has dramatically widened, and understanding of their population distribution and community burden has expanded worldwide in the twenty-first century. This chapter provides an overview of the increasingly global understanding of the prevalence of eating disorders around the world. The chapter provides an enhanced understanding of common and culturally distinct features of eating disorders across cultures – both in terms of risk and clinical presentation, with the ultimate goal of raising awareness and informing prevention and intervention efforts that reduce the prevalence and burden of these conditions worldwide.