‘Surprising and Concerning’: Australia Named the World’s Eating Disorder Capital as Global Anorexia and Bulimia Cases Surge 71 Per Cent, and Experts Warn the Crisis Is Far From Over
- Australia has the highest rate of anorexia and bulimia nervosa on Earth, with more than 1,000 sufferers for every 100,000 people
- Worldwide, about 18.1 million people were living with the two conditions in 2023, a 71 per cent jump since 1990
- Young people aged 10 to 24 make up roughly four in ten cases, and social media is a leading suspect in the rise
- Advocates say cost, distance and stigma mean many Australians battling these illnesses never receive treatment
Australia is the world leader in a category no nation wants to win.
Behind closed doors in suburban homes, regional towns and university dorms, a growing number of Australians are fighting anorexia and bulimia nervosa. New research shows the scale of the problem here is greater than anywhere else on the planet.
For families who have watched a son, daughter or partner struggle, the finding confirms what they have long suspected. The illness has been hiding in plain sight.
The figures come from a sweeping analysis published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
It estimates that 1,026.5 in every 100,000 Australians are living with one of the two disorders, a higher rate than the United States and the wealthy nations of Western Europe.
Globally, the picture is just as grim. Around 18.1 million people had anorexia or bulimia in 2023, a 71 per cent increase in three decades.
Researchers counted roughly 3.92 million people with anorexia and 14.2 million with bulimia, and they expect the numbers to keep climbing until at least 2050.
The toll in lost health is large.
The researchers calculated that the two disorders were responsible for 3.81 million disability-adjusted life years worldwide, a measure of years lost to illness, disability or early death.
Dr Damian Santomauro, a University of Queensland epidemiologist and the study’s senior author, called Australia’s position surprising and concerning. He noted that wealthier countries usually report more eating disorders, but said he had not expected Australia to sit so far above comparable nations.
Women and girls carry most of the burden, accounting for close to 70 per cent of cases worldwide. About 41 per cent of all sufferers are aged between 10 and 24.
The research forms part of the Global Burden of Disease project, the largest health study in the world, which has tracked illness across populations since 1990.
A companion report released this week found that mental disorders now account for more than 17 per cent of all disability globally.
Dr Santomauro said the project was among the first to show that mental illness can be as debilitating as many physical diseases, and in some cases more so.
To measure how common the disorders are, the team relied on population surveys rather than hospital or clinic records. This captures people who have never seen a doctor, a group that would otherwise vanish from the statistics.
The method has caveats. Dr Santomauro acknowledged that Australian surveys tend to use a different approach from those overseas, which may inflate the local figures somewhat.
He said, however, that he did not believe this fully explained the gap.
Sarah Cox, a clinical psychologist with the Butterfly Foundation’s helpline, offered another possibility. Australia may simply be measuring the problem more thoroughly than other countries, she suggested, and so seeing it more clearly.
On why cases keep rising, Dr Santomauro pointed to one leading theory: young people’s constant exposure to image-driven platforms such as Instagram, and the body image pressures that come with them.
He said he expected the trend to have worsened in recent years for that reason.
The fastest relative growth in new cases was recorded not in Australia but across East Asia, South Asia and South-East Asia, a sign that the problem is spreading well beyond the Western world.
Analysis: What This Means for Australia
The findings should worry policymakers as much as parents.
Eating disorders have the highest death rate of any psychiatric illness, and they strike during the years when young Australians are studying, starting careers and forming relationships.
The pressure on the health system is already heavy. Specialist eating disorder services are limited, waiting lists can stretch for months, and the gap is widest outside the capital cities.
Ms Cox noted that cost, living in regional areas and stigma all stand between patients and care, and that many sufferers are never treated at all.
There is a large economic cost too. Long hospital stays, lost productivity and carers forced to leave work all add up.
The debate over mental health funding is likely to grow louder as the projections are absorbed in Canberra.
The study also exposes a blind spot in Australia’s multicultural communities.
Jeanette Chan, an economist and public policy professional with lived experience of an eating disorder, said that growing up as a migrant she had little language for understanding mental illness.
She argued that eating disorders are often defined through a Western lens, which can make it harder for people from other backgrounds to recognise that something is wrong.
Ms Chan credited her community as vital to her recovery. She said investment in treatment and prevention has grown over recent years but still falls short of what is needed.
The headline figures may also understate the real scale.
Dr Santomauro stressed that the study covered only anorexia and bulimia, leaving out binge eating disorder and other unspecified feeding and eating disorders, which are also common.
Ms Cox noted that more than 1.1 million Australians experience some kind of eating disorder in any given year.
The study’s authors also acknowledged limits in their data, including gaps in bulimia-related death figures and sparse information from some low-income countries.
Public health observers say the results add weight to calls to tighten regulation of social media and young people, an issue that has already prompted government action on age limits for platforms.
Mental health advocates warn that a world-leading rate demands a matching response. That means early screening in schools, better training for GPs, and services that reach families in the bush, not just in inner-city clinics.
Health policy analysts believe the forecast rise to 2050 should be treated as a warning rather than a certainty. Policy decisions made now, they argue, will shape whether those projections come true.
Ms Cox struck a hopeful note. The numbers can be brought down, she said, and seeking help early improves a person’s chances of recovery.
For the many Australian families living with these illnesses, that is the message that matters most. Help is available, and it works.
Anyone affected can contact the Butterfly Foundation National Helpline on 1800 33 4673, or Lifeline on 13 11 14.