Westermann Nele, Klein Annette M, Busching Robert, Warschburger Petra
Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24/25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.
International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Stromstr. 1, 10555, Berlin, Germany.
J Eat Disord. 2025 Jul 6;13(1):129. doi: 10.1186/s40337-025-01330-x.
Research shows that binge eating often starts in childhood or adolescence, but its development remains largely unexplored. Additionally, while cross-sectional studies link self-regulation to binge eating, longitudinal research is lacking. Therefore, this study examined the development of binge eating and self-regulation as a potential predictor for this development in a community sample.
A total of N = 1660 children were assessed at four time points spanning ages 6-11, 7-11, 9-13, and 16-21. The assessment of self-regulation encompassed emotional reactivity, working memory updating, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, inhibitory control, planning behavior, affective decision-making, anger regulation, and as appetite self-regulation, satiety responsiveness, emotional overeating, food responsiveness, and external eating, using computerized tasks, teacher- and parent-reports. Binge eating was modeled by child-reported loss of control eating, overeating, and eating in the absence of hunger. A latent change score model was used to evaluate intra- and interindividual differences in binge eating across middle childhood and adolescence. Self-regulation facets were regressed on changes in binge eating.
Results indicated a decrease in binge eating at the beginning of middle childhood, followed by a stagnation and then an increase during adolescence, with significant interindividual differences in these changes. Higher planning behavior, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility predicted decreases in binge eating during middle childhood, while higher satiety responsiveness unexpectedly predicted an increase in binge eating during adolescence. Results remained the same after controlling for body weight.
Our findings highlight adolescence as a critical period for binge eating prevention, with planning behavior, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility acting as protective factors in middle childhood. The longitudinal data underscore the importance of self-regulation in the development of binge eating.
研究表明，暴饮暴食往往始于童年或青少年时期，但其发展过程在很大程度上仍未得到充分探索。此外，虽然横断面研究将自我调节与暴饮暴食联系起来，但缺乏纵向研究。因此，本研究在一个社区样本中考察了暴饮暴食的发展以及自我调节作为这一发展的潜在预测因素。
共有N = 1660名儿童在6 - 11岁、7 - 11岁、9 - 13岁和16 - 21岁这四个时间点接受评估。自我调节的评估包括情绪反应性、工作记忆更新、认知灵活性、抑制、抑制控制、计划行为、情感决策、愤怒调节，以及作为食欲自我调节的饱腹感反应、情绪性暴饮暴食、食物反应性和外部进食，采用计算机化任务、教师和家长报告的方式。暴饮暴食通过儿童报告的失控进食、过度进食和在不饥饿时进食来建模。使用潜在变化分数模型来评估童年中期和青少年时期暴饮暴食的个体内和个体间差异。自我调节方面的因素被回归到暴饮暴食的变化上。
结果表明，在童年中期开始时暴饮暴食有所减少，随后停滞，然后在青少年时期增加，这些变化存在显著的个体间差异。较高的计划行为、抑制控制和认知灵活性预测了童年中期暴饮暴食的减少，而较高的饱腹感反应意外地预测了青少年时期暴饮暴食的增加。在控制体重后结果保持不变。
我们的研究结果强调青少年时期是预防暴饮暴食的关键时期，计划行为、抑制控制和认知灵活性在童年中期起到保护因素的作用。纵向数据强调了自我调节在暴饮暴食发展中的重要性。
