Eating patterns in youth with restricting and binge eating/purging type anorexia nervosa.
OBJECTIVE
To describe eating patterns in youth with restricting and binge/purge type anorexia nervosa (AN) and to examine whether eating patterns are associated with binge eating or purging behaviors.


METHODS
Participants included 160 children and adolescents (M = 15.14 ± 2.17 years) evaluated at The University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program who met criteria for DSM-5 restrictive type AN (AN-R; 75%; n = 120) or binge eating/purging type AN (AN-BE/P; 25%; n = 40). All participants completed the eating disorder examination on initial evaluation.


RESULTS
Youth with AN-R and AN-BE/P differed in their eating patterns, such that youth with AN-R consumed meals and snacks more regularly relative to youth with AN-BE/P. Among youth with AN-BE/P, skipping dinner was associated with a greater number of binge eating episodes (r = -.379, p < .05), while skipping breakfast was associated with a greater number of purging episodes (r = -.309, p < .05).


CONCLUSIONS
Youth with AN-R generally follow a regular meal schedule, but are likely consuming insufficient amounts of food across meals and snacks. In contrast, youth with AN-BE/P tend to have more irregular eating patterns, which may play a role in binge eating and purging behaviors. Adults monitoring of meals may be beneficial for youth with AN, and particularly those with AN-BE/P who engage in irregular eating patterns.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Roni
R
Elran-Barak
Erin C
EC
Accurso
Andrea B
AB
Goldschmidt
Maya
M
Sztainer
Catherine
C
Byrne
Daniel
D
Le Grange
D000293:Adolescent; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology*; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D062407:Meals / Q000523:psychology
anorexia nervosa; binge eating and purging; eating pattern; meal frequency; youth