Background: We explored the course of broadly defined eating disorders during pregnancy in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Background We explored the impact of eating disorders on birth outcomes in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Method 35,929 pregnant women in the MoBa included women with broadly defined anorexia nervosa (AN; n=35), bulimia nervosa (BN; n=304), binge eating disorder (BED; n=1,812), and EDNOS-purging type (EDNOS-P; n=36) in the six months prior to or during pregnancy and the referent group--women who reported no eating disorders (no-ED; n=33,742). Results Pre-pregnancy BMI was significantly lower in mothers with AN and higher in mothers with BED than the referent. Mothers with AN, BN, and BED reported greater weight gain during pregnancy and more mothers with eating disorders reported smoking during pregnancy than the referent. Women with BED had higher birth weight babies, lower risk of small for gestational age babies, and higher risk for large for gestational age babies and cesarean section than the referent. Conclusions BED influences birth outcomes. The absence of differences in birth outcomes in women with AN and EDNOS-P may reflect small sample size and differential severity of illness in population versus clinical samples. The detection of eating disorders in pregnancy could help identify modifiable factors (e.g., binge eating, smoking) that could influence birth outcomes.

Body dissatisfaction in women in the United States is common. We explored how women from various racial and ethnic groups used figural stimuli by exploring differences in current and preferred silhouette, and their discrepancy. We surveyed 4,023 women ages 25-45 in an on-line investigation. Participants were identified using a national quota-sampling procedure. Asian women chose a smaller silhouette to represent their current body size, which did not remain significant after adjusting for self-reported BMI. After controlling for BMI, African American women selected a smaller silhouette than White women to represent their current size. Both African American and women reporting “Other” race preferred larger silhouettes than White women even after controlling for BMI. The discrepancy score revealed lower body dissatisfaction among African American than White women. Understanding factors that promote body satisfaction differentially across racial and ethnic groups could become a tool in appropriately tailored interventions designed to prevent eating disorders.

Objective Limited research exists on eating disorder symptoms and attitudes and weight and shape concerns in women in mid-life to older adulthood. We conducted an online survey to characterize these behaviors and concerns in women ages 50 and above. Method Participants (n = 1,849) were recruited via the Internet and convenience sampling. Results Eating disorder symptoms, dieting and body checking behaviors, and weight and shape concerns were widely endorsed. Younger age and higher body mass index (BMI) were associated with greater endorsement of eating disorder symptoms, behaviors, and concerns. Discussion Weight and shape concerns and disordered eating behaviors occur in women over 50 and vary by age and BMI. Focused research on disordered eating patterns in this age group is necessary to develop age-appropriate interventions and to meet the developmental needs of an important, growing, and underserved population.

If these results are replicated in larger, population-based samples, wider dissemination of information regarding the biological and genetic underpinnings of AN should be considered as a possible pathway in decreasing the blame-based stigma associated with AN.

To explore age differences in current and preferred silhouette and body dissatisfaction (current -preferred silhouette discrepancy) in women aged 25-89 years using figural stimuli (range: 1-very small to 9-very large). Data were abstracted from two online convenience samples (N = 5,868). t-tests with permutation-adjusted p-values examined linear associations between mean silhouette scores (current, preferred, discrepancy score) and age with/without stratification by body mass index (BMI). Modal current silhouette was 5; modal preferred silhouette was 4; mean discrepancy score was 1.8. There was no significant association between current silhouette and age, but a positive linear association between preferred silhouette and age remained after stratification by BMI. A significant inverse linear association of silhouette discrepancy score and age was found only prior to stratification by BMI. Body dissatisfaction exists in women across the adult life span and is influenced by BMI.

Women with bulimia nervosa before and during pregnancy and those with binge-eating disorder before pregnancy exhibit dietary patterns that differ from those in women without eating disorders, that are reflective of their symptomatology, and that may influence pregnancy outcomes.

Previous studies of prognostic factors of anorexia nervosa (AN) course and recovery have followed clinical populations after treatment discharge. This retrospective study examined the association between prognostic factors—eating disorder features, personality traits, and psychiatric comorbidity—and likelihood of recovery in a large sample of women with AN participating in a multi-site genetic study. The study included 680 women with AN. Recovery was defined as the offset of AN symptoms if the participant experienced at least one year without any eating disorder symptoms of low weight, dieting, binge eating, and inappropriate compensatory behaviors. Participants completed a structured interview about eating disorders features, psychiatric comorbidity, and self-report measures of personality. Survival analysis was applied to model time to recovery from AN. Cox regression models were used to fit associations between predictors and the probability of recovery. In the final model, likelihood of recovery was significantly predicted by the following prognostic factors: vomiting, impulsivity, and trait anxiety. Self-induced vomiting and greater trait anxiety were negative prognostic factors and predicted lower likelihood of recovery. Greater impulsivity was a positive prognostic factor and predicted greater likelihood of recovery. There was a significant interaction between impulsivity and time; the association between impulsivity and likelihood of recovery decreased as duration of AN increased. The anxiolytic function of some AN behaviors may impede recovery for individuals with greater trait anxiety.