Study: Women With Eating Disorders End Up With Less Money

According to a recent study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, women diagnosed with eating disorders or disordered eating behaviors were “at a distinct disadvantage when trying to achieve socioeconomic independence in early adulthood,” with “lower levels of educational attainment, personal income, and lower odds of owning a home in early adulthood compared to females who did not report” an illness.

Researchers at the University of Utah studied a pool of 166 men and 454 women who self-reported having been diagnosed with an eating disorder or disordered eating behavior. According to the study, “these detrimental associations were not present among males.”

In an interview with the Washington Post, Jennifer Tabler, a PhD candidate and the study’s lead author, noted that “women who struggled with disordered eating earned 13 percent less, had 27 percent lower odds of owning a home and got .2 percent fewer years of schooling.”

According to Tabler, “My suspicion is that girls who are preoccupied with weight and appearance and insecure at very young age—that follows you.”