Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2025 Nov 3. doi: 10.1002/erv.70044. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Limited literature exists on the extent of eating concerns among adolescents. This study examines the extent of eating disorder pathology and psychosocial correlates among 11- to 18-year-olds.
METHOD: School pupils (N = 382; 52% female; 72.8% Caucasian) provided demographic information and completed measures of eating disorder pathology (using a cut-off of > 3.64 on the seven-item Eating Disorders Examination-Questionnaire), psychosocial impairment, body shape dissatisfaction and mood. Levels of comorbid problems were compared across adolescents with low- and high-risk for eating disorders, using Mann-Whitney tests and Chi-squared tests and an alpha of 0.001 (to account for exploratory analyses).
RESULTS: A fifth (20.7%) of pupils exhibited clinical levels of eating disorder pathology, and they scored significantly worse on the other measures of psychopathology than those without such eating concerns. The majority (89.9%) of pupils with eating disorder pathology scores were above the clinical threshold in one or more comorbid areas. Eating disorder pathology and measures of comorbidity were all significantly intercorrelated.
DISCUSSION: A fifth of pupils were at-risk of eating disorder pathology, and almost all demonstrated substantial comorbidity. Contrary to the ‘white female’ eating disorder stereotype, many of those with eating concerns were non-white and over a third did not identify as female. These findings require further work on the screening technology, but highlight the pressing need for access to eating disorder prevention and treatment for a diverse population of such adolescents.
PMID:41185156 | DOI:10.1002/erv.70044
