Local Trend of Eating Disorders

HEDA received 2389 hotline enquiry calls and identified 1331 cases of eating disorders from 2012 to 2022. Among those identified cases, 29% were bulimic cases; approximately 33% were anorexic cases. Started from 2014, Binge Eating Disorder and Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) were classified based on the diagnostic criteria of DSM-V. Among those identified cases, almost 6% were Binge Eating Disorder and 32% were Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder. In addition, above 50% of them were between 16-25 years of age.

Because the Hong Kong government has not yet to have a specialized plan for eating disorders treatment, there is no official figure on the number of people suffering from eating disorders. HEDA believes that there are many cases of eating disorders of different severity levels that are unidentified. The hospitals in Hong Kong are not equipped to handle this illness which requires time-consuming counseling treatments, and consequently are unable to provide early treatment for a large number of patients who are in desperate need of help.

(The above figures are classified based on the diagnostic criteria of DSM-V)