As we approach the year 2006, many facts about our the effects our American culture has on women are startling. In a culture that obsesses over thinness, the average American woman is 5'4", weighs 140 lbs., and wears a size 14 dress. However, the "ideal" woman-portrayed by models, Miss America, Barbie dolls, and screen actresses--is 5'7", weighs 100 lbs., and wears a size 4.

With a continued social pressure to live up to an unobtainable ideal, American women are now at high risk for developing some level of this disease. The following list of facts demonstrates how large the susceptible demographics have become:

There is no single cause. An eating disorder generally results from a combination of factors. Psychological factors include low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacy or lack of control, depression, anger or loneliness. Interpersonal factors include troubled family and personal relationships, difficulty expressing emotions and feelings, history of physical or sexual abuse. Media promotion of unrealistic images and goals, along with its tendency to equate a person's value with their physical appearance is another contributor.

However, eating disorders have an impact on a much wider sphere of influence than just the person with an eating disorder. The numerous and diverse ways that they can affect both close family and society at large are largely overlooked. Caring for someone with an eating disorder is demanding and emotionally draining given that the average duration is 6 years and many care givers have to give up their own careers to look after a loved one with an eating disorder. Sadly many people do not understand the consequences of these deadly psychological disorders that can result in as many as one in five people who develop an eating disorder dying prematurely.

Because of the high cost of specialized treatment for an eating disorder and because there is inadequate provision of specialist clinics and services across the US, many people end up in unsuitable general mental health facilities. As a result many sufferers will return for two, three, even four or more periods of costly treatment before recovery begins. Some may never recover and live shortened lives in personal distress and isolation. Specialists in the treatment of eating disorders believe that early intervention by specialized services has the greatest potential for a complete and lasting recovery. Perhaps even more important, is the provision of some simple and straightforward prevention strategies within schools and colleges that can help to reduce the prevalence of eating disorders amongst young people.

Many of the consequential effects are difficult to quantify in financial terms, however the impact on the person with an eating disorder and the people around them can nevertheless be devastating and have fallout well beyond the family circle.