Weight concerns influence the development of eating disorders: a 4-year prospective study.
The authors examined factors prospectively associated with age of onset of partial syndrome eating disorders over a 4-year interval in a community sample (N = 877) of high school-age adolescent girls. Four percent developed a partial syndrome eating disorder over the interval. A measure of weight concerns was significantly associated with onset in a multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis (p < .001). Girls scoring in the highest quartile on the measure of weight concerns had the highest incidence (10%) of partial syndrome onset, whereas none of the girls in the lowest quartile developed eating disorder symptoms. This finding is consistent with both theoretical and clinical perspectives and may represent a useful step toward the establishment of a rational basis for the choice of a prevention intervention target.
Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California 94304, USA. killen@scrdp.stanford.edu
J D
JD
Killen
C B
CB
Taylor
C
C
Hayward
K F
KF
Haydel
D M
DM
Wilson
L
L
Hammer
H
H
Kraemer
A
A
Blair-Greiner
D
D
Strachowski
D000293:Adolescent; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D002032:Bulimia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors