Ronald C. Kessler, PhD, an HCP professor of health care policy, coauthors an important new study on eating disorders | Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School

Ronald C. Kessler, PhD, HCP professor of health care policy

Ronald C. Kessler, PhD, an HCP professor of health care policy, coauthors an important new study on eating disorders

Ronald C. Kessler, PhD, a professor of health care policy at HCP, is coauthor of a new study on the prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the United States. This research, carried out with colleagues from Harvard Medical School’s McLean Hospital, found that although eating disorders are relatively uncommon, they represent a public health concern, as they are frequently associated with other psychiatric disorders and are often undertreated. The study supports the belief that these disorders have increased steadily in prevalence in the United States since the 1940s.

Among other results, the researchers found that binge eating disorder, which is associated with current severe obesity (a body-mass index of 40 or greater), is at least as chronic as anorexia or bulimia and appears to be more common than the other two.

The findings about binge eating disorder were covered heavily in the local and national press, including articles in the Washington Post and USA Today, as well as broadcasts on NPR and on several websites. The study’s abstract is available on PubMed.

The National Comorbidity Survey Replication, on which this study was based, is supported primarily by the National Institute of Mental Health and is carried out in conjunction with the World Health Organization’s World Mental Health Survey Initiative.