Eating disorder behaviors and treatment seeking in self-identified military personnel and veterans: Results of the National Eating Disorders Association online screening

Objective: To characterize disordered eating behaviors, eating disorder (ED) risk and diagnosis, and treatment seeking behaviors in active-duty military personnel/veterans compared with civilians.

Method: Self-selecting participants (n = 113,388; 1744 were military personnel/veterans) 18+ years old completed the National Eating Disorders Association's online screen. Engagement in and frequencies of disordered eating behaviors were compared across military/veteran and civilian groups and were stratified by gender. ED risk and diagnosis and treatment seeking behaviors were also compared.

Results: Individuals in the military/veteran group were more likely to engage in diuretic/laxative use and excessive exercise compared with civilians. Compared with civilians, the military/veteran group had a lower percentage who screened "at risk for an ED" and a higher percentage who screened for "no risk". Females in the military/veteran group were more likely to engage in diuretic/laxative use, excessive exercise, and fasting compared with female civilians; males in the military/veteran group were more likely to engage in excessive exercise and less likely to engage in vomiting than male civilians. Of the self-identified military personnel/veterans who screened positive for any ED, 86% had never received treatment, which did not differ significantly from civilians. Notably, 56.7% of those (54.1% of military/veteran group; 56.7% of civilians) who completed an optional item on intention to seek treatment (n = 5312) indicated they would not seek treatment.

Conclusions: Disordered eating and ED profiles, but not treatment seeking, may differ between military personnel/veterans and civilians who complete an online ED screen. Future work should emphasize treatment options and connecting respondents directly to tailored resources.