In Western countries, approximately 18% of young women and 2% of young men have reported an struggling with an eating disorder. A new study published in the journal Nature Mental Health examined the relationship between eating disorders, behavior patterns, and brain structure. It found that youth with eating disorders had brains that were maturing more slowly.
The researchers surveyed 996 participants (478 male and 518 female) on their eating habits. They sorted the participants into three different eating profiles:
- Healthy eaters
- Restrictive eaters (people who eat less to avoid weight gain)
- Emotional/uncontrolled eaters (people who overeat when feeling depressed or anxious)
Restrictive eaters and emotional/uncontrolled eaters behaved differently than healthy eaters, the researchers discovered. Aside from eating patterns, unhealthy eaters tended to increasingly internalize their problems (show signs of depression and anxiety) as they got older, while healthy eaters did the opposite. Unhealthy eaters also had higher levels of externalizing their problems (showing signs of inattention or behavior problems) than healthy eaters, although in all three groups this decreased as the participants got older.
In addition, the researchers also gave participants MRI scans in order to understand if there were any brain region differences between the three groups. They found that participants with unhealthy eating behaviors had brains that matured more slowly. As people age, typically their brain volume shrinks. Participants with unhealthy eating had a slower rate of brain volume reduction compared to healthy eaters. In particular, both groups of unhealthy eaters had cerebellums—the region of the brain in charge of appetite—that matured more slowly.
Zuo Zhang, coauthor of the study, told the American Association for the Advancement of Science: “By showing that different unhealthy eating behaviors are linked to differential trajectories of mental health symptoms and brain development, our findings may inform the design of more personalized interventions.”