Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Teens at Risk for Eating Disorders

By Hugh C. McBride

It's hardly a secret that life can often be far from easy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teenagers.

The challenges faced by LGBT teens in the United States include the threat of rejection by family members and friends, an increased likelihood of being bullied in school, a more significant chance of substance abuse, and a heightened risk of depression and related mental health disorders.

Adding to that list are recent revelations that some LGBT teenagers are more likely to suffer from eating disorders, especially binge eating and purging.

"We found clear and concerning signs of higher rates of eating disorder symptoms in sexual-minority youth compared to their heterosexual peers, even at ages as young as 12, 13 or 14 years old," lead researcher S. Bryn Austin, an assistant professor of pediatrics, said in a Sept. 17 article by Reuters Health writer Amy Norton.

About the Research

Norton's article also reported the following facts about the research that Austin and her colleagues conducted on eating disorders among LGBT teens:
 

• Austin's team evaluated data that had been collected on about 14,000 12- to 23-year-olds in the United States.
• The researchers reported heightened rates of binge-eating among both male and female subjects who self-identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or "mostly heterosexual."
• The teenagers who were more likely to binge eat were also more likely to purge - most commonly by forcing themselves to vomit or by taking laxatives.
• Among the teen girls whose data were evaluated, lesbian, bisexual and mostly heterosexual respondents were all about twice as likely to report having engaged in binge-eating at least once per month in the past year as heterosexual girls.
• Among the male study subjects, homosexual teens had the highest risk of eating disorders - they were seven times more likely to report bingeing and nearly 12 times more likely to report purging than their heterosexual counterparts.

While the data showed a strong association between gay teenagers and eating disorders, Austin emphasized in the Reuters article that the cause of these eating disorders isn't sexual orientation, but rather the pervasive societal rejection and abuse faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teenagers.

"This kind of isolation and victimization can take its toll on a young person," Austin said in the article. "And one of the ways it can play out is in vulnerability to eating-disorder symptoms and a host of other stress-related health problems."

Help for Gay Teens

Mental Health America, one of the nation's leading nonprofit mental health advocacy groups, has reported that teasing and bullying are regular experiences for gay teens. A year-long study by the group found that about 30 percent of LGBT teens were threatened or injured while in school.

The emotional stress of this repeated victimization - a stress that is often accompanied by less-than-supportive home environments and social circles - can inflict significant lasting emotional damage that can manifest as depression, anger, self-hatred and disordered eating.

Because LGBT teens who have been bingeing and purging are likely to have done so in response to external pressures, it is essential that an effective eating disorder treatment program be able to identify and address both the eating disorder itself and any underlying emotional issues.

Depending upon the nature and severity of a gay teen's eating disorder - and the presence of co-occurring substance abuse disorders, addictions or other mental health challenges - treatment options include outpatient therapy, hospitalization, residential eating disorder treatment, participation in an eating disorder recovery support group or a combination thereof.

Eating disorders can inflict serious physical damage, and can exacerbate the emotional problems that may have caused the disorders in the first place. Life is tough enough for most LGBT teenagers - and the addition of an eating disorder can be overwhelming. But help is available, and recovery is possible.

If you or someone you care about is suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder or any other form of disordered eating, research your options and get the help you need. With effective treatment, these disorders can be beaten, and life can get much better.