When people think of somebody with an eating disorder, many consider a thin, skinny teenager. A girl with anorexia nervosa. This stereotype is so pervasive that it could possibly feel like reality.
The fact is that Eating disorders affect People of all ages, body sizes, cultures, races, sexes, genders and sexualities. In 2023, around 1.1 million Australians (Around 4.5% of the population) were living with an eating disorder.
A growing body of evidence suggests that LGBTQIA+ persons are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders. But we’d like more research to know how and why they affect this group.
Here’s what we all know up to now in regards to the high risk of LGBTQ+ people – and what treatments actually work for them.
What is an eating disorder?
An eating disorder is a serious mental health condition that affects an individual’s eating behavior. They can harm each physical and mental health.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are essentially the most well-known eating disorders, but are literally essentially the most common Binge eating disorder (eating an excessive amount of in too little time and feeling uncontrolled) and Avoidant/restrictive eating disorder (restriction of food because of sensory sensitivity, lack of appetite, or fear of illness or suffocation).
Eating disorders can damage an individual’s organs, bones, fertility, and brain function. Depending on the person with the eating disorder Five times Without one you usually tend to die soon.
How high is the danger for LGBTQIA+ people?
Research shows that LGBTQIA+ people have Very high rates of eating disorders Compared to non-LGBT queya+ people.
For example, within the United States, an estimated 9% of the population They will face eating disorders of their lifetime. But a 2018 Survey of LGBTQ Youth The rates present in the US were significantly higher:
- 54% reported an eating disorder diagnosis
- Another 21% thought they’d an eating disorder, but had not been diagnosed.
Within the LGBTQIA+ community, risk also varies amongst different groups:
We haven’t got data for asexual people, but we all know this Unrelated people have poor body image Compared to their idiosyncratic peers. So it is probably going that in addition they experience higher rates of eating disorders.
Why LGBTQIA+ persons are at greater risk
Being an LGBTQIA+ person is just not a mental illness. There is not any evidence of a biological reason why LGBTQIA+ people experience higher rates of eating disorders.
Although many aspects contribute, essentially the most studied risk aspects are minority stress and gender dysphoria.
1. Minority stress
Minority stress It refers back to the impact of discrimination and stigma on the health of LGBTQ+ people. This means it is not who they’re, but how LGBTQIA+ persons are treated This makes them more vulnerable.
Discrimination could make LGBTQIA+ people feel ashamed of their identities and bodies. Some people attempt to address dysfunctional eating behaviors, which might result in an eating disorder.
For intersex people, Medically unnecessary surgery in childhood “Normalizing” their bodies may cause trauma and shame May also increase the risk of eating disorders.
2. Gender dysphoria
Many trans people experience something called gender dysphoria. It is the discomfort, pain, or disconnection that may occur when an individual’s gender identity doesn’t match their physical body or how others perceive them. For many trans people, eating disorders might be trying Reduce gender dysphoria.
Among trans adolescents, Eating disorders often develop as a way to prevent puberty When they can not access puberty blocking drugs. For example, restricting food could also be a option to try to scale back the looks of breast tissue or stop periods.
What form of treatment will work?
After diagnosis, Treatment of common eating disorders Includes a Multidisciplinary team Including a health care provider, mental health skilled and dietician. If someone’s physical health requires close monitoring, treatment might be provided in the neighborhood or in a hospital.
But eating disorder treatment was not designed with LGBTQIA+ people in mind and sometimes might be Cause damage. LGBTQIA+ people report More negative experiences of treatment in comparison with the final population.
For example, mirror exposure exercises are a typical therapy, where someone with an eating disorder is asked to look within the mirror for long periods of time to scale back body image distress. But for some trans people it could possibly Worry about their gender dysphoria.
This doesn’t mean that treatment cannot help LGBTQIA+ people. This signifies that treatment needs to be adapted to make sure it meets their needs.
In practice, it appears that evidently: