Population studies indicate that 63% of high school girls and 16% of boys report dieting to lose weight. Within one year 35% of normal dieters progress to pathological dieting, 20-30% of all pathological dieters progress to full or partial eating disorders. Of those 30- 40% develop full disorders within four years. In 1998, according to the American Medical Association (AMA), eating disorders ranked as the third most common illness among adolescent females in the US with an estimated prevalence of 4%.
AMA policy asks that its members help their patients to avoid obsession with dieting, and to develop individualized approaches to find their own optimal weight (Policy 150.965) (McVaughn, 98
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