National Eating Disorders Awareness Week offers a meaningful moment to deepen understanding and visibility of eating disorders, which impact millions but too often go undetected in clinical care. Eating disorders can affect individuals of all ages, genders, body sizes, and backgrounds. Early recognition and compassionate intervention by healthcare professionals can significantly improve outcomes.
Understanding Eating Disorders: A Public Health Priority
Eating disorders involve disturbances in eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions and include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED) (American Psychological Association, 2024). These conditions are serious and carry high mortality rates and long-term health consequences (APA, 2024).
Key Statistics Every Clinician Should Know
Understanding the scope of eating disorders helps clinicians recognize their widespread impact:
- An estimated 9% of the U.S. population—approximately 30 million Americans—will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime (National Eating Disorders Association, 2025).
- Every 52 minutes, one person dies as a direct consequence of an eating disorder (National Eating Disorders Association, 2025).
- Eating disorders have the second-highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness, surpassed only by opioid use disorder (National Eating Disorders Association, 2025).
- The global prevalence of eating disorders increased significantly between 2000 and 2018, indicating growing public health concern (Galmiche, Déchelotte, Lambert, & Tavolacci, 2019, as cited in National Eating Disorders Association, 2025).
- Disordered eating behaviors affect about 22% of children and adolescents worldwide, underscoring the need for early clinical identification (López-Gil et al., 2023, as cited in National Eating Disorders Association, 2025).
These data point to the high prevalence and significant impact of eating disorders, emphasizing the importance of diagnostic awareness across all clinical settings.
Recognizing the Signs Across Care Settings
Eating disorders manifest in physical, behavioral, and psychological ways. Healthcare professionals should watch for:
Physical Indicators
- Fatigue, dizziness, bradycardia, or electrolyte disturbances
- Unexplained changes in weight or vital signs
Behavioral and Emotional Cues
- Ritualized behavior around food, eating avoidance, or rigid dietary rules
- Excessive exercise, mood swings, and anxiety around meals
Because less than 6% of individuals with an eating disorder are medically underweight, weight alone is not a reliable indicator of an eating disorder (National Eating Disorders Association, 2025).
Compassionate Communication Matters
How clinicians speak with patients can shape engagement and outcomes. Approaches that foster trust include:
- Asking open-ended questions
- Validating feelings and concerns
- Avoiding comments about weight or shape
- Framing conversation around health and function
These practices help individuals feel seen and supported without stigma.
Referral and Multidisciplinary Support
Effective care often includes:
- Medical monitoring
- Nutrition therapy
- Mental health support
- Specialty eating disorder treatment or community referrals
Early referral to appropriate services can reduce complications and promote recovery.
Strengthen Clinical Awareness with Continuing Education
Continuing education helps healthcare professionals deepen clinical knowledge and improves patient care. CareerSmart® Learning’s Eating Disorders and Medical Nutrition Therapy (2.0 CE/contact hours) course offers evidence-based insights, including:
- Red flags and symptom recognition
- Nutrition-related medical risks
- Communication strategies
- Incorporating screening and referral pathways
This online course provides practical skills while helping healthcare professionals, such as nurses, case managers, rehabilitation counselors, and social workers, fulfill continuing education (CE) requirements.
Take Action This Eating Disorders Awareness Week
Awareness leads to recognition and early intervention—both critical to better patient outcomes. Enroll yourself (or your healthcare team) in Eating Disorders and Medical Nutrition Therapy (2.0 CE) today to advance your clinical skills and improve patient care.
For more information about eating disorders and support resources, visit the National Eating Disorders Association at https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ (National Eating Disorders Association, 2025).
References
American Psychological Association. (2024). Eating disorders. https://www.apa.org/topics/eating-disorders
Galmiche, M., Déchelotte, P., Lambert, G., & Tavolacci, M. P. (2019). Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000–2018 period: A systematic literature review. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 109(5), 1402–1413. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy342 (as cited in National Eating Disorders Association, 2025).
López-Gil, J. F., García-Hermoso, A., Smith, L., Firth, J., Trott, M., Mesas, A. E., … Victoria-Montesinos, D. (2023). Global proportion of disordered eating in children and adolescents. JAMA Pediatrics. (as cited in National Eating Disorders Association, 2025).
National Eating Disorders Association. (2025). Eating disorder statistics. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/statistics/
