Disordered Eating Behaviors

In the United States, disordered eating behaviors are common occurrences among female adolescents, and can lead to serious health complications in later stages of life. Due to the secretive and widespread nature of these behaviors, there is a lack of evidential support to represent current statistics regarding approximately how many are affected. However, one study investigating disordered eating behaviors in high school aged adolescents discovered that in an assessment of 40,640 adolescent girls, 56% of 9th-grade females and 57% 12th-grade girls reported participating in disordered eating behaviors; 55% females reported the behaviors overall. Hispanic, American Indian, and White females were the first, second and third most prevalent ethnicities

For proper development, it is imperative that adolescent females have adequate energy and nutrient intake. While the risk of developing an eating disorder may be increased as a result of these untreated behaviors, an increased risk for excess weight gain and obesity has been found to be a consequence as well. In a recent study analysis, adolescents who participated in disordered eating behaviors were at two to three times greater risk for becoming overweight just five years later, compared to adolescents who did not participate in disordered eating behaviors at the baseline assessment1. Disordered eating behaviors include: chronic dieting, weight fluctuations, extremely inflexible and often unhealthy food and exercise regimes, feelings of guilt when unable to control food and exercise habits, pre-occupation with food, body and exercise that causes extreme distress with a result in a negative impact on quality of life, compulsive or emotionally-driven eating, and use of compensatory measures such as: restrictive eating habits, purging or laxative use, and excessive exercise3. Early identification of disordered eating behaviors can lead to an early intervention, improving not only the quality of life for that individual, but also morbidity and

The test originated in 1979 as the EAT-40 (Garner & Garfinkel, 1979), but has since been reformed to a shorter and more comprehensive assessment. In the EAT-26, participants self-report answers to twenty-six questions about eating behaviors, attitudes surrounding eating, and body image. The EAT-26 is not used for the diagnosis of eating disorders; instead, it is designed to measure eating disorder risk. The test is available, with permission and free of cost, through the EAT-26 website as an anonymous online assessment and can be used in other settings, complete with scoring instructions. The self-reporting, anonymous nature of this screening produces increased opportunity for honest answers, rather than an assessment in interview format with participant and