Gender identity, race/ethnicity and eating pathology

Gorrell, S., Le Grange, D., Blalock, D. V., Mehler, P. S., Johnson, C., Manwaring, J., Duffy, A., Huston, E., McClanahan, S., & Rienecke, R. D. (2021). Gender identity, race/ethnicity and eating pathology in a treatment-seeking community sample. Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, 31, 77-89.

Despite the wide-reaching impact of eating disorders (EDs), little is known about eating pathology among individuals across racial/ethnic and gender minority groups. This study investigated ED symptomology among 13,658 adolescents and adults seeking treatment at ERC centers across the United States.  Results indicated that anorexia nervosa was the most common diagnosis in each gender category and for a majority of racial/ethnic groups; Black individuals had elevated rates of binge eating disorder, consistent with previous research.  Compared to females, males were less likely to endorse all ED symptoms, and gender minority status was also associated with a decreased report of most ED symptoms, with some exceptions: Hispanic/Latinx and Bi/Multi-racial individuals reported some ED pathology at rates that were comparable to or higher than White individuals.  This study affirms the wide-reaching impact of ED pathology, and supports robust screening for ED symptomology across various gender and racial/ethnic identifications.