Current research suggests that BDD is much more common than once thought; nearly 5 million people in. Although BDD has recently become a buzzword, appearing on a variety of talk shows, magazine articles and radio stations due to its media appeal, it is still not well understood or widely acknowledged by therapists. Many sufferers are misdiagnosed with depression and do not receive help for the actual problem.  alone suffer from the potentially disabling disorder, and due to the highly secretive nature and embarrassment of sufferers, many others are most likely plagued as well and have not received a diagnosis.

Unlike eating disorders which are much more prevalent in women, research indicates that BDD is just as commonly seen in women as in men. While the most frequent BDD obsessions regard facial appearance, many women sufferers are also plagued with overall body proportions issues, while some men are preoccupied with the need to be larger and more muscular. This latter phenomenon is referred to, in a groundbreaking book written by Dr. Roberto Oliviandro and Katherine A. Phillips, as “the Adonis complex”.