title: Eating in the absence of hunger during childhood predicts self-reported binge eating in adolescence.
abstract: The objectives of the current study were to examine whether eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) at age 7 predicted reports of self-reported binge eating at age 15 and to identify factors among girls with high-EAH that moderated risk of later binge eating.
  
  
  
  Subjects included 158 girls assessed at age 7 and age 15. Logistic regression was used to predict binge eating at age 15 from calories consumed during EAH at age 7. A series of logistic regressions were used to examine the odds of reporting binge eating given levels of risk factors (e.g., anxiety) among those with high-EAH in childhood.
  
  
  
  Girls' EAH intake predicted reports of binge eating at age 15; after adjusting for age 7 BMI, for each additional 100kcal consumed, girls were 1.7 times more likely to report binge eating in adolescence. Among those with high-EAH, BMI, anxiety, depression, dietary restraint, emotional disinhibition, and body dissatisfaction all predicted binge eating.
  
  
  
  EAH during childhood predicted reports of binge eating during adolescence; girls with elevated BMI, negative affect, and maladaptive eating- and weight-related cognitions were at increased risk. High-EAH in childhood may be useful for indicating those at risk for developing binge eating.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8134, 660 South Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States. Electronic address: balantekink@psychiatry.wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Katherine N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Balantekin
authors.affiliation: Department of Foods and Nutrition, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States.
authors.forename: Leann L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Birch
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 110 Chandlee Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Jennifer S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Savage
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002032:Bulimia / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression; D004032:Diet; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D016015:Logistic Models; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology; D057566:Self Report
keywords: Adolescents; Binge eating; Eating in the absence of hunger