InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders, The University of Sydney & Sydney Local Health District, NSW, 2006, Australia.
The Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Appetite. 2024 Dec 1;203:107685. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107685. Epub 2024 Sep 19.
Dieting is a potent risk factor for eating disorder (ED) symptoms and development, which typically occur in late adolescence. However, as diets are often motivated by body image concerns (another core ED risk factor), dieters may already carry heightened ED risk. Thus, the current study aimed to document ED risk among young people starting a diet in the community. Young people (16-25 years) starting or intending to start a self-initiated diet (N = 727) provided data via a screener questionnaire, assessing containing sociodemographic factors, past and current ED symptoms and behaviours. Over a third (36.9%) screened using a validated instrument were found to be at-risk of a current ED, with 10% above the clinical cut-off. Consistent with this finding, over 10% of the sample self-reported experiencing a lifetime ED, while nearly a quarter reported symptoms consistent with an ED diagnosis with no reported formal diagnosis. Findings suggest a high level of ED risk among young people starting a diet in the community and point to the need for more proactive measures targeted at this cohort (e.g., screening, monitoring). Further education on the risks of dieting and encouragement for help-seeking in young people is indicated.
节食是饮食障碍（ED）症状和发展的一个强有力的风险因素，通常发生在青春期后期。然而，由于节食通常是出于对身体形象的关注（另一个核心 ED 风险因素），节食者可能已经有更高的 ED 风险。因此，目前的研究旨在记录开始社区节食的年轻人的 ED 风险。开始或打算开始自行发起的节食的年轻人（16-25 岁）通过屏幕问卷提供数据，评估包含社会人口因素、过去和现在的 ED 症状和行为。使用经过验证的工具筛选出的三分之一以上（36.9%）的人存在当前 ED 的风险，超过 10%的人超过了临床截止值。与这一发现一致的是，超过 10%的样本报告曾经历过终生 ED，近四分之一的人报告了符合 ED 诊断的症状，但没有报告正式诊断。研究结果表明，开始社区节食的年轻人中存在高度的 ED 风险，这表明需要针对这一年龄段采取更积极的措施（例如筛查、监测）。需要对节食的风险进行进一步教育，并鼓励年轻人寻求帮助。
