Eating Disorders Affect More Than 500,000 Teens

CHICAGO (AP) — Government research shows more than half a million U.S. teens have had an eating disorder but few have sought treatment for the problem.

The study is billed as the largest and most comprehensive analysis of eating disorders. It involved nationally representative data on more than 10,000 teens aged 13 to 18.

Binge-eating was the most common, affecting more than 1.5 percent of kids studied. Just under 1 percent had experienced bulimia, and less than half a percent had had anorexia. Overall, 3 percent had a lifetime prevalence of one of the disorders. Another 3 percent of kids questioned had troubling symptoms but not full-fledged eating disorders.

The study was released online Monday in Archives of General Psychiatry.

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