Prevention of Eating Disorders

The public health burden of eating disorders (EDs) is well documented although it might be underestimated in the global burden of disease studies. There has been considerable growth in the evidence of prevention of eating disorders over the past several decades. This chapter presents an overview of present evidence of prevention of eating disorders. Evidence showed that cognitive dissonance, media literacy, and CBT interventions targeting late adolescent and young adult females with ED risk factors/symptoms were effective in reducing symptoms of ED or ED onset cases. Media literacy interventions delivered at school setting were the best evidence of efficacy in preventing ED risk factors. Whether preventive interventions for both high BMI and eating disorders are effective is unclear albeit some positive findings. Further research of cost-effectiveness and real-world implementation of such preventive interventions for eating disorders is required.