Neural Underpinnings of Anxiety in Relation to Eating Behaviors in Adolescence
Abstract
Loss of control (LOC) eating, a key feature of binge eating disorder (BED), is commonly reported by youth with higher weight (261) and adolescent girls of all weight strata (2). Data indicate that LOC eating in childhood may be a prospective marker for adverse outcomes. Of concern, LOC eating is a precursor to partial- or full-syndrome BED as well as increases in depressive and anxiety symptoms, higher risk for excess weight and fat gain, and worsening of metabolic syndrome components (118; 254). LOC eating in youth is highly comorbid with anxiety (104; 173; 223; 254), and is predictive of increases in anxiety symptoms over time (118;254), potentially suggesting shared neural underpinnings and/or etiologies. Indeed, neuroimaging data shows that girls with overweight or obesity who reported LOC eating demonstrated a neural response to social distress similar to the response of youth with anxiety (125). These data suggest youth with LOC eating may have an attention bias (preferential allocation of attention to highly salient stimuli) to socially threatening stimuli. This attention bias may be explained by the interpersonal model of disordered eating.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 13, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1212210
Entities
People
- Meghan E. Byrne
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences