Weight Concerns and Disordered Eating Common in 13-Year-Olds

Alain Joffe, MD, MPH, FAAP

...and are associated with both short- and long-term negative outcomes.

Peak onset of eating disorders is between ages 15 and 19 years, but younger teens also display eating disorder symptoms. Investigators in England examined eating disorder symptoms during early adolescence in 7082 adolescents (50% girls; 96% white) enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Height and weight were measured at ages 13 and 15 years. Parents completed a semi-structured interview designed to identify psychiatric disorders, including eating disorder behaviors and cognitions, and their effect on family and adolescent functioning.

By parental report, 12% of girls and 5% of boys at age 13 years were “terrified” about gaining weight or getting fat, and 5% of girls and 2% of boys were “upset or distressed a lot” about their weight or shape. Three patterns of weight concerns/eating behaviors emerged: bingeing/overeating, weight/shape concerns with weight control behaviors, and food restriction. Binging/overeating was associated with social impairment and family burden and emotional and behavioral disorders in both sexes. Weight concerns were associated with social impairment in both sexes and with family burden in girls. Food restriction was associated with all four negative outcomes in boys and with family burden and behavioral disorders in girls. Bingeing/overeating and weight concerns at age 13 were associated with higher body-mass index (BMI) z-scores at age 15 in both sexes, while food restriction predicted lower BMI-z scores.

Citation(s):

Micali N et al. Frequency and patterns of eating disorder symptoms in early adolescence. J Adolesc Health 2013 Dec 17; [e-pub ahead of print].