Eating disorders in Southern Africa: an update on prevalence, recognition, and clinical implications.

IF 5.9 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

Current Opinion in Psychiatry Pub Date : 2026-11-01 Epub Date: 2026-09-09 DOI:10.1097/YCO.0000000000001116

Lot Sternheim, Hans W Hoek, Bernou Melisse

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose of review: Recent publications call for research on eating disorders in Southern Africa. However, research is scarce, dated and heavily relies on unvalidated self-reports conducted mainly among young, urban women. This narrative review deliberate challenges in recognizing and identifying eating disorder pathology in Southern African populations and discusses research and clinical implications.

Recent findings: The prevalence in Southern Africa is 0.7%, and 0.5-4.7% for the named eating disorders. Cultural, linguistic, and dietary practices may obscure recognition of eating disorder pathology. Evidence on body image concerns is mixed, suggesting that these differ from Western contexts. Interactions between ethnicity and broader socio-cultural factors remain underexplored. These gaps highlight the need for contextually relevant research and for co-developing interventions with local researchers, clinicians, and individuals with lived experience.

Summary: The comprehension of eating disorder pathology in Southern African populations remains limited. Understanding and including linguistic, socio-cultural and socio-economic factors is essential. Qualitative research offers an important starting point to explore body image, disordered eating thoughts and behaviors, and underlying mechanisms in these populations.

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南部非洲饮食失调：流行、认识和临床意义的最新情况。

综述目的：最近的出版物呼吁对南部非洲的饮食失调进行研究。然而，这方面的研究是稀缺的，过时的，并且严重依赖于未经证实的自我报告，这些报告主要是在年轻的城市女性中进行的。本文回顾了在南部非洲人群中认识和识别饮食失调病理方面的挑战，并讨论了研究和临床意义。最近的研究发现：南部非洲的患病率为0.7%，命名为饮食失调的患病率为0.5-4.7%。文化、语言和饮食习惯可能会模糊对饮食失调病理的认识。关于身体形象关注的证据是混杂的，这表明这些与西方环境不同。种族与更广泛的社会文化因素之间的相互作用仍未得到充分探讨。这些差距突出表明需要进行与背景相关的研究，并与当地研究人员、临床医生和有实际经验的个人共同制定干预措施。总结：对非洲南部人群饮食失调病理的理解仍然有限。理解并包括语言、社会文化和社会经济因素是必不可少的。定性研究为探索这些人群的身体形象、饮食失调的想法和行为以及潜在机制提供了一个重要的起点。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Current Opinion in Psychiatry 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

12.20

自引率

1.40%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： Current Opinion in Psychiatry is an easy-to-digest bimonthly journal covering the most interesting and important advances in the field of psychiatry. Eight sections on mental health disorders including schizophrenia, neurodevelopmental disorders and eating disorders, are presented alongside five area-specific sections, offering an expert evaluation on the most exciting developments in the field.