title: Pubertal development predicts eating behaviors in adolescence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Early maturing girls are at increased risk for disordered eating. However, it is unclear if the association between puberty and disordered eating continues throughout pubertal development and if a similar association is exhibited in boys.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 1340 same- and 624 opposite-sex twins from the Swedish Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development. Pubertal development was assessed at age 13-14 with the pubertal development scale. General disordered eating, measured with the eating disorder inventory-2 (EDI) was assessed at age 16-17, and dieting and purging behaviors were assessed at both ages 16-17 and 19-20. We applied analysis of variance and logistic regression analyses to determine whether pubertal development in early-to-mid adolescence predicted eating disorder-related behaviors in late adolescence and young adulthood.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pubertal development in early-to-mid adolescence was significantly associated with EDI scores and dieting in late adolescence. No significant association was observed between pubertal development and dieting and purging in young adulthood.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Complex combinations of cultural and biological influences likely converge during pubertal development increasing vulnerability to disordered eating. The impact of pubertal development on disordered eating appears to be limited to the adolescent period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7160, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lichtenstein
authors.forename: Cynthia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bulik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D013548:Sweden; D014427:Twins / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult