Eating Disorders in South Asia

The majority of the research on eating disorders (ED) has been conducted in Western countries. The South Asia region comprises eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. This chapter summarizes the literature landscape of EDs in South Asia, including clinical features, morbidity, mortality, course, outcomes, and treatment strategies used for EDs in this region. Abnormal eating attitudes or disordered eating behaviors, as measured by screening tools, are reported to be widely distributed across South Asia. Adoption of Western body norms and globalization may mitigate the protective effects of traditional cultures in these regions, but research on the determinants of disordered eating in this region is sparse. While there are consistencies with findings from elsewhere, reports have highlighted the greater prevalence of the non-fat-phobic variant of anorexia nervosa compared to Western studies. We highlight literature gaps that will provide future directions for research in this area.