Study Finds Mortality Increase For People with Eating Disorders

(Newswire.net — January 28, 2016) Frankston North, Victoria — A new study has just indicated that those suffering from eating disorders are at an increased risk of death compared to the general population. Those suffering from anorexia nervosa have a 5x higher mortality rate than those not suffering from the disorder in their age group. Individuals suffering from bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders have also been shown to have an elevated mortality, to a lesser extent.

According to news-medical.net, risk factors for premature death include a high number of hospitalizations due to the eating disorder, premature discharge from a hospital program, developing an eating disorder at an older age, poor social adjustment, and lower BMI at the time of hospitalization. Suicide remains a major concern when treating all eating disorders. Dr. Manfred Fichter, lead author of the study, has said “there is still a desperate need to develop more effective treatments for eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa.”

Anorexia is a disorder that plagues both men and women, teenagers and adults, and while it is recognized as serious, it does often get the attention it deserves.

“There have been many stories about anorexia, so many heartbreaking examples of the medical model failing in finding a ‘cure’. There have been cases and statistics of ‘successes’ in the eating disorder clinics. So why are there still people out there suffering and dying from this disorder or from the results of this disorder?” asks Beverley Searle, author of What Doctors Do Not Want You to Know about Anorexia! which shows the shortcomings in the current treatments for anorexia nervosa.

“Treatments available for anorexia include counselling and respite visits to general hospitals which often have and Eating Disorder ward. Unfortunately there is a long stay at these hospitals (often up to a year) and the costs are over $1,000 a day with $50,000 plus for the stay and some paying as much as $186,000. Over the years many sufferers of anorexia have been force fed and had punitive treatment meted out to them. And most people with anorexia are taught to discount the voice in their head,” says Searle

Anorexia remains ever present within our society, as more and more people strive to live up to societal expectations of beauty. With this continued presence, there seems to be no real cure for the disorder and no real knowledge on how to stop it from getting worse. Searle’s book, What Doctors Do Not Want you to Know about Anorexia, she demonstrates the failures in the current treatments for anorexia as well as showcasing the true nature of the disorder itself. “To fully illustrate what can happen with the medical model, I give true stories of what happens in the case of anorexia and show you what the doctors don’t want you to know—their failures,” states Searle.

As the numbers of people suffering from anorexia continue to climb, Searle breaks barriers by showing how there is a better way for each of them to get the help they deserve.

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