‘Disordered eating’ rates troubling among young lesbians, bisexuals, gays: study
VANCOUVER — Gay, lesbian and bisexual youth are continuing to purge, fast or take diet pills to lose weight while rates for such behaviour among heterosexuals have decreased, a University of British Columbia study says.
“Our study has found that it’s only getting worse for lesbian and bisexual girls,” said lead researcher Ryan Watson, a postdoctoral fellow at the university’s school of nursing.
The research involved 26,000 students in Massachusetts, but the results for the Grades 9 to 12 students are the same as an even larger and yet-to-be published British Columbia survey among students in Grades 7 to 12.
The Massachusetts study, based on data collected between 1999 and 2013, was published this week in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.