Binge Eating Behaviors From Adolescence to Adulthood
Binge Eating Behaviors From Adolescence to Adulthood
Our findings suggest that purging behaviours are the most severe and gender-bound subclinical forms of ED, i.e. behaviours indicating high-risk individuals. A substantial proportion of adolescents report binge eating and inappropriate weight control methods; the risk declines to some extent with the transition to adulthood. Early preventive interventions of such inappropriate eating behaviours have the potential to decrease the likelihood of progression to full-threshold ED. The differences found among the groups in this study may be useful in the discussion concerning a reformulation of clinical forms of ED in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V, particularly around the necessity to capture diversities in the EDNOS category. It is important to explore more closely whether psychosocial disturbances cause or mediate the observed difference among the ED groups. Moreover, future studies should be aimed at finding factors that are potent in distinguishing individuals who experience disordered eating symptoms which are limited to the adolescent years from those who suffer from longer lasting symptoms which persist into adulthood. Research is as well needed examining in which way psychosocial correlates of disordered eating that were found in the present study are causally related to different types of eating disordered symptoms. Such studies would provide valuable information for prevention and intervention efforts in the field of disordered eating.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that purging behaviours are the most severe and gender-bound subclinical forms of ED, i.e. behaviours indicating high-risk individuals. A substantial proportion of adolescents report binge eating and inappropriate weight control methods; the risk declines to some extent with the transition to adulthood. Early preventive interventions of such inappropriate eating behaviours have the potential to decrease the likelihood of progression to full-threshold ED. The differences found among the groups in this study may be useful in the discussion concerning a reformulation of clinical forms of ED in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V, particularly around the necessity to capture diversities in the EDNOS category. It is important to explore more closely whether psychosocial disturbances cause or mediate the observed difference among the ED groups. Moreover, future studies should be aimed at finding factors that are potent in distinguishing individuals who experience disordered eating symptoms which are limited to the adolescent years from those who suffer from longer lasting symptoms which persist into adulthood. Research is as well needed examining in which way psychosocial correlates of disordered eating that were found in the present study are causally related to different types of eating disordered symptoms. Such studies would provide valuable information for prevention and intervention efforts in the field of disordered eating.