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Tough to Swallow

An estimated 8 to 10 million Americans have an eating disorder.

3
Number of diagnoses for eating-disorder cases: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and “eating disorder not otherwise specified”

8-10
Estimated number of Americans, in millions, with an eating disorder

90
Percentage of those with eating disorders who are females ages 12 to 25

56
Number of times more likely an anorexic woman is to commit suicide than a nonanorexic woman of similar age

50
Percentage of eating-disorder cases that may go undetected

5
Typical number of years after the onset of bulimia symptoms before a patient is diagnosed

$30,000
Typical cost of one month of inpatient treatment for anorexia

50
Minimum percentage of anorexics who undergo treatment but never fully recover

23
Number of states that have included eating disorders in mental health parity laws, which require insurers to cover mental health disorders

1
Number of U.S. postdoctoral training programs that teach professionals how to treat people with eating disorders

14
Millions of dollars that the National Institutes of Health expects to spend on anorexia research in 2008

55
Size, in billions of dollars, of the U.S. weight-loss industry