Eating Disorders in Adolescence May be Related to Childhood Eating Habits
According to new research, children who are picky eaters are at an increased risk of developing anorexia during their teen years. Those who overeat as children are at higher risk of binge eating disorders. Persistent undereating during childhood increased the risk of developing anorexia in teen years by 6% for girls. Overeating, undereating and ‘fussiness’ in early childhood can be linked to anorexia and binge-eating in adolescence, and the risk is greater for girls, according to a new study from the UCL Institute of Child Health. […]. The researchers analyzed data from 4,760 participants from Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (Children of the 90s), a population-based longitudinal cohort of parents and their children born in the South West of England in 1991 and 1992. Information from parents reporting on their children’s eating habits was collected at eight points during the ages of one and nine and then linked with eating disorder outcomes at age 16.
The results show that children with increasing levels of overeating throughout childhood have a 6 percentage point increased risk (from 10 to 16%) of engaging in binge eating compared to children with low overeating. First author, Dr. Moritz Herle said: “From a large robust cohort we were able to identify patterns of eating behaviors at an early age that may be potential markers of later eating disorders. Our results suggest that children who show high and persistent levels of fussy eating might be at increased risk of developing anorexia nervosa, and children who overeat persistently are at a higher risk of binge-eating in their teenage years.” The team also found that persistent undereating during childhood was associated with a 6 percentage point increased risk (from 2 to 8%) of anorexia in adolescents, but only in girls. Children who were fussy eaters throughout childhood had a 2 percentage point risk increase for anorexia (from 1 to 3%), compared to children who were not fussy eaters.
Lead author Dr. Nadia Micali (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) added: “Our study helps us to understand who might be at risk of eating disorders and extends what we know from previous studies and from clinical observations. Eating disorders are highly complex and influenced by interactions of biological, behavioral, and environmental factors and this study helps to identify some of the behavioral mechanisms behind these associations.” Dr. Agnes Ayton, chair of the eating disorders faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “This study shows that early identification and targeted intervention for disordered childhood eating may reduce the future risk of eating disorders. However more research is needed to disentangle the biological, behavioral and environmental risk factors, in order to improve health outcomes for children and teenagers.”
Article: Herle, M., Stavola, B., Hübel, C., Abdulkadir, M., Ferreira, D., Loos, R., Bryant-Waugh, R., Bulik, C. M., & Micali, N. (2020). longitudinal study of eating behaviours in childhood and later eating disorder behaviours and diagnoses. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 216(2),113–119. doi:10.1192/bjp.2019.174
1. After reading the text, circle whether the following sentences are True (F) or False (F).
a. Reduced food intake in childhood also increases the risk of developing anorexia in adolescence by 9% for girls. T F
b. Eating disorders are mainly due to biological factors. T F
c. Children who overeat are at risk of binge-eating during adolescence. T F
d. Children who are fussy eaters are at greater risk of anorexia. T F
e. The risk of overeating in adolescence is higher for girls. T F
2. Find and write a sentence of the text that has the following meaning:
a. Eating patterns in childhood determine potential eating disorders in the future. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. Picky eating in childhood may be associated with anorexia in adolescence. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
c. Eating disorders occur from the simultaneous presence of several factors. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. What is the main finding of the research mentioned in the text?
a. Poor eating habits in childhood inevitably lead to eating disorders in adolescence.
b. Boys are less at risk of developing eating disorders in adolescence.
c. Eating disorders are particularly common in adolescence.
d. All of the above.
e. None of the above
4. Find synonyms for the following words:
a. Developing --------------------------------------------------------
b. Linked --------------------------------------------------------
c. Suggest --------------------------------------------------------
d. Found --------------------------------------------------------
e. Know --------------------------------------------------------
5. Find antonyms for the following words:
a. Persistent --------------------------------------------------------
b. Risk --------------------------------------------------------
c. Extends --------------------------------------------------------
d. Complex --------------------------------------------------------
e. Improve --------------------------------------------------------
6. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below to give the correct meaning.
a. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- can clarify what are the biological, behavioral and environmental risk factors for the occurrence of eating disorders.
b. --------------------------------------------and---------------------------------------------------- may decrease the risk of eating disorders in the future.
c. ------------------------,----------------------------and --------------------------------------- have been associated to some extent with anorexia and binge-eating in adolescence.
7. What is the main point of the text? How is this relative to Text A you read previously? Briefly describe the common points between the two.
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Sources:
https://neurosciencenews.com/teen-eating-disorders-picky-eaters-14698/