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According to the first nationally representative study of eating disorders in the United States, which appeared in the February 2007 edition of Biological Psychiatry, 0.9 percent of women and 0.3 percent of men reported suffering from anorexia in their lifetime.
On average, the illness lasted 1.7 years.
Here are some anorexia nervosa statistics from various other US organisations, which were all obtained from their corresponding websites:
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH):
Somewhere between 0.5 and 3.7 percent of females suffer from anorexia nervosa in their lifetime.
Approximately 0.56 percent of anorexia sufferers will die each year, while 5.6 percent will die each decade.
The mortality rate among people with anorexia is 12 times higher than the mortality rate for all causes of death among females aged 15-24.
An estimated 5 to 15 percent of anorexia and bulimia sufferers are male.
Academy for Eating Disorders:
Nearly 50 percent of anorexia sufferers recover, while 33 percent show some improvement and 20 percent continue to be severely ill.
National Eating Disorders Association:
Of all the mental illnesses, anorexia has the highest mortality rate.
2 in 5 new cases of anorexia are in girls aged between 15 and 19 years.
The number of cases of anorexia increased significantly between 1935 and 1989, particularly in women aged 15-24.
Only one-third of people with anorexia in the community receive mental health care.
The Renfrew Center Foundation:
1 in 5 anorexia sufferers will suffer related complications such as suicide attempts and heart problems that lead to premature death.
An average woman gains 25 lbs during pregnancy, while restricting anorexics gain an average of 15.8 lbs during pregnancy.
The average birth weight of babies born to purging anorexics is 4.9 lbs.
96% of professionals who deal with eating disorders believe their anorexic patients lives are put at risk because their health insurance policies authorise early release.