Eating Disorders in LGBTQIA+ Populations
Members of LGBTQIA+ communities are at an increased risk for developing eating disorders, and face unique barriers to treatment. However, with the right care from educated providers and a caring support network, lasting recovery is possible for every LGBTQIA+ person struggling with an eating disorder.
Studies show that eating disorder rates are higher among transgender, gender non-conforming, and queer folk than among their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts. Despite this, stereotypes about who gets eating disorders—namely cisgender, white, heterosexual girls—persist.
Awareness is fortunately increasing about eating disorders within LGBTQIA+ communities, and we’re committed to doing our part to amplify this awareness, close the treatment gap, and get effective eating disorder care to every LGBTQIA+ person who needs it.
Facts and statistics about eating disorders in LGBTQIA+ populations
- LGBTQIA+ young people experience significantly higher rates of eating disorders, with at least one survey finding that over 50% of LGBTQ+ youth reported having an eating disorder.¹
- Transgender college students report experiencing disordered eating at approximately 4 times the rate of their cisgender classmates.²
- Transgender high school students are nearly 3 times as likely to restrict eating, almost 9 times as likely to use diet pills, and 7 times as likely to use laxatives to control their weight.³
- While gay males account for an estimated 5% of the total male population, they make up 42% of males with eating disorders.⁴
- LGBTQ+ youth are more than twice as likely as their peers to engage in bingeing and purging behavior, beginning as early as age 12.⁵
- 87% of LGBTQIA+ youth reported being dissatisfied with their body, and LGBTQIA+ youth with body dissatisfaction were twice as likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year compared to LGBTQ+ youth without body dissatisfaction.⁶
- LGBTQIA+ youth who have been diagnosed with an eating disorder reported nearly 4 times greater odds of attempting suicide in the past year compared to those who never had, or suspected they had, an eating disorder.7
- 32% of transgender people report using their eating disorder to modify their body without hormone replacement therapy.⁸
Common questions about eating disorders in LGBTQIA+ populations
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Proven results for
eating disorder patients
After completing treatment
improve to subclinical levels of eating disorder symptoms
improve to subclinical levels of anxiety
Our patients are getting better
After the first 8 weeks of treatment, Equip patients are well on their way to recovery
1lb
Average weekly weight gain for those who need it
8 in 10
Patients report a decrease in eating disorder behaviors
74%
Of patients report improvements with depression or anxiety
What patients say about Equip
Dive DeeperLearn about the nuances of eating disorders, treatment, life in recovery, and more on our blog.
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How Equip supports LGBTQIA+ populations
We know that those in LGBTQIA+ communities face specific challenges in eating disorder recovery, and our treatment is designed to help them overcome each of them. Nearly half of our clinicians and mentors identify as LGBTQIA+, and all our providers are trained in providing nuanced and sensitive care specific to this population. All Equip providers complete training on gender-affirming care, and we’re proud to be rolling out Gender Responsive & Affirming Care at Equip (GRACE), a detailed protocol that will serve as our guiding philosophy toward gender-affirming care.
We offer two LGBTQIA+ support groups, one for youth and one for adults, as well as two transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) support groups, one for patients and one for caregivers of TGNC patients.
We acknowledge that there is a long way to go before LGBTQIA+ populations have the same access to proper eating disorder diagnoses and evidence-based treatment as their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts. On our part, we’re committed to providing treatment that addresses these challenges with sensitivity and competence, while we work toward raising awareness and making effective eating disorder treatment available to every LGBTQIA+ person who needs it.
If you think you or an LGBTQIA+ person in your life may be struggling with an eating disorder, finding prompt treatment is vital.
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