Disordered eating in a 10‐year perspective from adolescence to young adulthood: Stability, change, and body dissatisfaction as a predictor

Abstract

IntroductionAlthough there are many studies of disordered eating (DE) in adolescence, studies examining the longitudinal stability and change of DE and its longitudinal associations with other factors are still rather scarce. Such studies are important to inform parents and clinicians how stable DE is and to what extent it will go away with increased maturity. Longitudinal studies may also be of help in establishing predictors of long‐term problems. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the stability of DE over a 10‐year period from early adolescence to young adulthood, and to explore body dissatisfaction as a predictor in a 10‐year perspective.MethodsData were taken from a three‐wave longitudinal project (SoL) with survey data collected among the students in Grades 7and 8 in a Swedish municipality in 2007 (T1), 1 year later (T2), and in a 10‐year follow‐up in 2017 (T3). DE was measured by the eight‐item version of the Risk Behaviour Related to Eating Disorders (RiBED‐8), and a quasi‐clinical criterion of six or more critical answers on the RiBED‐8 was used to classify DE cases.ResultsOf the girls, 5.8% passed the cutoff for DE at T1, whereas 9.1% did so at T2 and 7.9% at T3. The boys showed markedly lower figures: 0.5% both at T1 and T2, and 1.5% at T3. There was significant individual stability of DE over the 10‐year period, with almost 30% of the girls who passed the cutoff for DE at T1 also doing so 10 years later. Body dissatisfaction in early adolescence predicted the incidence of new cases of DE 10 years later, even when controlling for degree of DE in early adolescence. The results also indicate that DE in early adolescence may be a passing phase among adolescents who express relatively high body satisfaction.ConclusionsThe present results show a complex picture of different individual trajectories of DE, with degree of body satisfaction playing a significant role for the outcome in a 10‐year perspective. Body dissatisfaction appears to be a risk factor for the development of new cases of DE, whereas body satisfaction may protect against the continuation of DE into adulthood.

Person, population, mechanism. A rejoinder to critics and an elaboration of the three-branch model

“…Consider the following example: In a longitudinal study, Foster et al ( 2024 ) found that 13-15 years old adolescents who were dissatisfied with their bodily appearance showed a significantly higher risk of developing disordered eating over the following ten-year period. This is a finding at the population level that is relevant to the understanding of possible causes behind the development of disordered eating.…”

A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of the prevalence of self-reported disordered eating and associated factors among athletes worldwide

“…Together, they constitute an "at risk" state [11]. While usually associated with women, and attributed to occupations such as modeling or ballet where weight must be restricted, EDs are also prevalent in males, and especially in both male and female sports [12,13]. They are most likely to develop in athletes who compete in sports that a) promote leanness as a way to improve performance, b) divide team eligibility according to weight, or c) receive points based on appearance [14].…”