Adolescent eating disorder behaviours and cognitions: Gender-specific effects of child, maternal and family risk factors

Abstract

BackgroundEating disorder behaviours begin in adolescence. Few longitudinal studies have investigated childhood risk and protective factors.AimsTo investigate the prevalence of eating disorder behaviours and cognitions and associated childhood psychological, physical and parental risk factors among a cohort of 14-year-old children.MethodData were collected from 6140 boys and girls aged 14 years. Gender-stratified models were used to estimate prospective associations between childhood body dissatisfaction, body mass index (BMI), self-esteem, maternal eating disorder and family economic disadvantage on adolescent eating disorder behaviours and cognitions.ResultsChildhood body dissatisfaction strongly predicted eating disorder cognitions in girls, but only in interaction with BMI in boys. Higher self-esteem had a protective effect, particularly in boys. Maternal eating disorder predicted body dissatisfaction and weight/shape concern in adolescent girls and dieting in boys.ConclusionsRisk factors for eating disorder behaviours and cognitions vary according to gender. Prevention strategies should be gender-specific and target modifiable predictors in childhood and early adolescence.

The role of endocannabinoids in the control of eating disorders

“…Environmental risk factors can be multiple and are divided into early and late; Early Risk Factors are all those conditions that interfere with the early stages of neuro-development and maturation of stress response systems and include intrauterine life conditions, perinatal complications and early alterations in relationship with figures of care [24]. Late environmental risk factors can be considered conditions of loss or trauma, abuse and neglect in childhood, psychosocial stress and strongly conflicting relationships between parents and parents and children, psychoactive substance abuse and the exposure to pressures towards the thinness by members of the family group or the relational, affective, ethnic and cultural area in which the subject lives [4]. In fact, they engage in identification processes associated with canons of bodily perfection, the ideals of thinness as a synonym for beauty or towards an objectivation of the female body perceived, lived and shown in its sexual dimension, and thus treated as an object that must respond to an ideal of beauty and aesthetic perfection [16,17].…”

“…These disorders are diseases with a high social impact and affect mainly the younger sections of the population and represent an important public health problem because they are associated with discomfort, disability and increased risk of death [4]. In addition, eating disorders have a high comorbidity with mood, anxiety and substance abuse disorders.…”

“…Both in AN and BN, the age range in which the debut is most common is between the ages of 15 and 19, with tendency to decrease in recent years, while for the BED it is distributed in a wider band with a peak in early adulthood [4,9]. There is, however, a significant difference between intercepted pathology and epidemiologically estimated disease, so many people with ED do not receive treatment; Additionally, those people with ED receive inappropriate care.…”

Food behavior as risk factor for developing eating disorders

“…This necessity is physiological, not psychological but a condition of physiological necessity has psychological consequences that assume the name of "drive" [1][2][3][4][5].…”

“…The food should nourish the collective mentality before can come in an empty stomach. Or rather there are food "good to think" or food "bad to think" [1][2][3][4][5].…”