Prevalence and correlates of eating disorders among Asian Americans: Results from the national Latino and Asian American study

Abstract

Objective: Our study examines lifetime and 12-month prevalence estimates of eating disorders in Asian American men and women. We also report on the association between social factors and eating disorders, BMI categories, treatment, and impairment.Method: We use data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, a nationally representative survey of the U.S. household population of Latino and Asian Americans. Our present study is based on data from the sample of Asian Americans (N 5 2,095).Results: Overall, Asian Americans present with low prevalence for eating disorders. Only lifetime prevalence for binge eating disorder (BED) is significantly higher for Asian women compared to Asian men. Our results show that age is strongly associated with BED and any binge eating. High current BMI of 30-39.9 and 40 is strongly associated with BED and any binge eating. Treatment utilization is low, and respondents reported some role impairment. Conclusion:Our findings show that despite low prevalence estimates, eating disorders are present among Asian American men and women. Our data suggest that researchers consider more flexibility in defining and classifying eating disorders, to better detect and measure the prevalence of eating disorders among Asian Americans. V V C 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Eating attitudes and body image in ethnic Japanese and Caucasian adolescent girls in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

“…As diferenças encontradas entre os dois grupos étnicos em estudo estão em conformidade com estudos anteriores, que relataram maiores índices de insatisfação com a imagem corporal e transtornos alimentares em mulheres brancas [1][2][3] . As adolescentes caucasianas, principalmente as adolescentes pré-menarca, apresentaram níveis mais altos de tendência para transtornos alimentares.…”

“…Alguns estudos apresentam altos índices de transtornos alimentares em meninas de origem caucasiana [1][2][3] . Em outros estudos, os níveis de insatisfação com o corpo e transtornos alimentares foram mais elevados em outros grupos étnicos 4 .…”

Race, ethnicity, and eating disorders: Considerations for DSM-V

“…6,7 Similarly, the relatively shorter duration of illness for BN and BED in African Americans suggests that typical length of illness, and potential course of illness, may vary among diverse groups. Nicdao and coworkers 4 proposed that greater flexibility is needed in defining the eating disorders diagnoses so as to improve detection in Asian Americans; previous studies 6,8 have indicated that some aspects of the current criteria for AN (e.g., fear of fat) may not be present in Asian women who nevertheless suffer from AN. Thus, it is time for the DSM-V to attend to two facts: eating disorders occur in diverse groups, in some cases to a similar extent as in the majority culture, and furthermore, that the presentation of eating disorders may differ across race and ethnicity.…”

Behavioral symptoms of eating disorders in Native Americans: Results from the add health survey wave III

“…1 As noted in a recent review, 2 whereas progress has been made in determining how common eating disorder syndromes or core symptoms are among the majority (white Americans) and several racial or ethnic minority populations in the United States (US), [3][4][5][6][7] a gap in knowledge continues regarding eating disorders among the US Indigenous peoples (American Indian/Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaskan Natives, here abbreviated as AI/NA). Prevalence data for eating disorders in AI/NA populations are warranted both to complement epidemiological data concerning other major mental disorders in these populations and also to inform resource allocation for mental health interventions to reduce the substantial burden associated with eating disorders.…”