Childhood Appetite And Adolescent Eating Disorders: What’s The Connection?

The findings of this study have important implications for understanding the early origins of eating disorders and identifying potential preventive strategies.

The relationship between childhood appetite traits and the onset of eating disorder symptoms in adolescence has been investigated by researchers from UCL and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, this study delved into data from 3,670 young individuals in the UK and the Netherlands to understand how early appetite traits might influence the emergence of eating disorder symptoms up to ten years later. The research revealed intriguing findings that shed light on potential risk factors and protective factors associated with the development of eating disorders during adolescence.

Key Findings Of The Study

The study unveiled that a heightened level of food responsiveness during early childhood, characterized by a strong urge to eat when exposed to palatable food stimuli, was correlated with a higher likelihood of reporting various eating disorder symptoms during adolescence.

Specifically, individuals who exhibited particularly high food responsiveness at ages four and five were found to have an increased risk of experiencing eating disorder symptoms between the ages of 12 and 14. On the other hand, certain appetite traits, such as a slower pace of eating and a heightened sensitivity to satiety, appeared to be protective against the development of eating disorder symptoms later in life.