MedPage Today (12/23, Hlavinka) reports, “Presence of anxiety disorders in teenage girls was predictive of later restrictive eating habits,” investigators concluded. In the “longitudinal study,” among “2,406 teenage girls, such disorders – including social or specific phobias, panic disorders, and generalized anxiety disorders – were associated with increased likelihood of fasting for weight loss or to avoid weight gain two years later, after adjusting for fasting, binge-eating, and weight status at baseline.” But “when stratified by age, this association was only significant among older girls, such that adolescents with anxiety disorders at ages 13 and 14 were not significantly more likely to engage in fasting at ages 15 and 16.” The findings of the 2,406-participant study were published online Dec. 17 in the European Eating Disorders Review.
Related Links:
— “Anxiety Symptoms Predict Later Fasting Among Teen Girls, ” Elizabeth Hlavinka, MedPage Today, December 23, 2019