Teenagers from lower-income families are more likely to have an eating disorder, a university study suggests, challenging the stereotype they mainly affect wealthy families.
New research from University College London (UCL) has found teenagers from lower-income backgrounds and households with lower levels of education are more likely to have an eating disorder.
Published on Tuesday, the findings dispute the misconception that eating disorders mainly affect young people from wealthy families.
Dr Nora Trompeter, a senior author of the study, said: ‘Eating disorders are often stereotyped as a problem of affluence but this review shows that this is not the full picture.
‘Our review has found that teenagers from lower-income, lower-education households are actually more likely to show signs of disordered eating, not less.
‘This tells us that disordered eating is a concern across the socioeconomic spectrum and prevention and treatment efforts need to reach families facing financial and social disadvantage, who may currently be overlooked.’
The review – based on 51 studies involving more than 26,000 teenagers in North America, Europe and Australia – included diagnosed conditions such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder.
It also looked at symptoms associated with disordered eating including restricting food, fasting, poor body image and feeling pressure to become thinner.
Around two-thirds of the studies found teenagers from lower-income families were more likely to have an eating disorder, while none found the same was true of those from wealthier families.
Teenagers whose parents had not attended university were also around 25% more likely to report symptoms.
However, the findings were less consistent when looking at other measures of social and economic background, including neighbourhood deprivation, parents’ jobs and financial difficulties.
Dr Trompeter said stereotypes about eating disorders could mean some young people were not identified as being at risk.
‘Eating disorders don’t discriminate by income or educations,’ she said. ‘If anything, the evidence points the other way and treating them as a ‘privileged conditions risks leaving adolescents most in need of support undiagnosed and untreated.’
The researchers added that healthcare professionals and school counsellors should consider a wider range of young people when looking at who might be at risk.
They said: ‘Challenging outdated stereotypes could help reduce missed diagnoses and ensure that those young people who are most in need receive timely treatment.’
The study was published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders and can be read in full here.
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