Eating disorders Risk factors
These factors may increase the risk of an eating disorder:
Gender.
Teenage girls and young women are more likely than teenage boys
and young men to develop eating disorders, though eating disorders do occur in
teenage boys and young men.
Age. Although eating disorders can occur
in midlife, they are much more common during the teens and 20s.
Family
influences. People who feel less secure in their families, whose parents
and siblings may be overly critical, are at higher risk of eating disorders.
Heredity.
Eating disorders may be more common in people who have close
family members with eating disorders.
Emotional disorders. People
with depression, anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder are more
likely to have an eating disorder. People with anorexia tend to have perfectionist
traits. Some with bulimia have problems with impulse control.
Excessive
exercise. People who participate in highly competitive athletic activities
are at greater risk of developing an eating disorder. At particular risk
of anorexia are females in sports such as gymnastics, figure skating and track.
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