Eating Disorders are common. They onset in adolescence and affect individuals of all ages. Women are more affected than men. I will present evidence on the epidemiology of eating disorders across the lifespan. I will also review risk factors focusing in particular on biological risk factors that might explain onset of these disorders in critical periods of a woman’s life. I will also cover pyschosocial risk factors across life stages. I will present results from a series of cohort studies. I will then summarise the evidence from our own and other existing studies.

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