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Who's at risk of getting anorexia?

Certain things can increase your chances of getting anorexia. They're called risk factors. Here is a list of some of them.

  • Being female. For every man who gets anorexia, ten women get it.1
  • Having mental health problems that affect your mood, such as depression and anxiety (intense worry) or obsessive-compulsive disorder.1 2 3 4
  • Having a job or hobby that makes you feel that you have to be thin. Ballet dancers, gymnasts and models are under a lot of pressure to be thin.1 2 3 4 For men, sports like bodybuilding and wrestling increase the risk of getting anorexia.3
  • Having low self-esteem. Thinking you're no good at anything or won't amount to anything increases your chances of getting anorexia.1
  • Wanting to be perfect and accepting nothing less.3 4 5
  • Being unhappy with your weight and shape.1
  • Getting teased by others about your body.2 4
  • Being white and financially well off.3
  • Feeling grief or deep sadness that you can't get rid of, about something bad that happened.1
  • Being sexually abused as a child.1
  • Having eating problems as a child.1
  • Inheriting certain genes.1 Having a female relative with anorexia in your immediate family, especially an identical twin, increases your chance of getting anorexia.3 4



Sources for the information on this page:
  1. Jacobi C, Hayward C, de Zwaan M, et al. Coming to terms with risk factors for eating disorders: application of risk terminology and suggestions for a general taxonomy. Psychological Bulletin. 2004; 130: 19-65. 14717649
  2. Mehler PS. Diagnosis and care of patients with anorexia nervosa in primary care settings. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2001; 134: 1048-1059. 11388818
  3. American Psychiatric Association Work Group on Eating Disorders. Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with eating disorders: third edition. June 2006. Available at http://www.psych.org (accessed on 4 January 2008).
  4. Fairburn CG, Cooper Z, Doll HA, Welch SL. Risk factors for anorexia nervosa: three integrated case-control comparisons. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1999; 56: 468-476. 10232302
  5. Shafran R, Mansell W. Perfectionism and psychopathology: a review of research and treatment. Clinical Psychology Review. 2001; 21: 879-906. 11497211
This information was last updated in Mar 10, 2008