Eating disorders found to be more common in teens from low socioeconomic backgrounds

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Add as preferred source Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Teenagers from households with lower incomes and lower levels of education are more likely to have an eating disorder, a new study co-led by UCL researchers finds. The study, published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders and conducted in collaboration with researchers at Copenhagen University Hospital, reviewed data from 51 studies involving 26,174 adolescents from Western countries across North America, Europe and Australia.

It found that, contrary to common stereotypes, eating disorders don't just affect wealthy and well-educated families and that this assumption can lead adolescents from lower-income backgrounds to be overlooked, underscreened or not recognized as at risk.