Mario Gutiérrez-Bedmar
Senior Lecturer in Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Málaga and Principal Investigator of the established research group on Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the Málaga Biomedical Research Institute (IBIMA) - BIONAND Platform
The article is of very high methodological quality, with conclusions based on data that may have limitations due to the quality of the records in different regions. This could underestimate the scale of the health problem in areas where data are scarce. A particular strength is the up-to-date nature of the data and the forecast of a likely increase in these disorders.
With regard to the results, a higher prevalence of these disorders among women and in the 15–35 age group was to be expected given current knowledge, although the extremely high prevalence of these disorders in Australasia is noteworthy, most likely driven by the gradual rise in socio-economic status.
Finally, I would like to point out that, according to this research, these eating disorders have not only failed to decrease but are on the rise (particularly bulimia nervosa), which is why special attention should be paid to the role of social media. They can undoubtedly be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, they can raise awareness of these problems, which remain prevalent and are on the rise; but, on the other hand, they can send the wrong messages to the very age group where prevalence is highest and where social media is used most extensively.