How much does your mental health have to do with your eating habits? Research suggests they are strongly linked. A new study published in Brain and Behavior provides evidence that even subclinical levels of anxiety and depression may be related to eating disorders.
Many young adults struggle with eating disorders, which can lead to long-lasting health problems or even death. The best results for people affected by an eating disorder are obtained when treatment is started early. Anxiety disorders and major depression correlate with higher rates of disordered eating behavior. Levels of subclinical anxiety and depression can also be very damaging to people’s quality of life, similar to formally diagnosed anxiety or depression.
Researchers Kaitlyn M. Eck and Carol Byrd-Bredbenner used a college sample due to its high rates of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. They had 1,792 participants who were college students between the ages of 18 and 25. All participants completed measures on generalized anxiety disorder, clinical depression, and eating disorders. The eating disorder measure was separated into subscales, including eating concerns, shape concerns, weight concerns, binge eating, purging behaviors, and restricted eating.
The results showed that as anxiety and depression increase, so does the severity of the eating disorder. This is consistent with previous research that showed that anxiety and depression separately are associated with increased eating disorder behavior. Results also showed that subclinical levels of anxiety and depression were also associated with greater severity of eating disorder behavior. This research suggests that anxiety and depression levels should be measured when a person is diagnosed with an eating disorder or exhibits any behavior related to eating disorders. This could lead to a more effective and comprehensive treatment.
This study advanced to better understand the relationships between eating disorder behaviors and the severity and levels of anxiety and depression. Despite this, it had some limitations. For example, this study was cross-sectional, using only college students from a specific university. The measures used were self-report, which may be less accurate due to social desirability biases.
The study, “Concerns, behaviors, and severity of eating disorders in young adults grouped by anxiety and depression.“, was published on November 26, 2021.
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