Bingeing and Depression Linked among Teenage Girls?

A study among American girls indicates that mental depression and binge-eating behavior can be linked. The conclusions stems from a study of almost 5,000 adolescent girls (aged 12-18) who were surveyed in 1999, 2001 and 2003. The study only focused on girls, as they are more prone to depression and eating disorders than boys. Results yielded that in the initial study, those teens who described themselves as “depressed” are two times more likely to binge for the next two years compared to other girls.

Binge eating is a condition wherein the person does not exercise control regarding consumption of food. They may eat compulsively, eat unusually large amount of food very quickly and eat even when not really hungry. Bingeing is a symptom of a common eating disorder called binge eating disorder.

The study is the largest to date in examining the links between depression and binge eating. It is to note that a lot of eating disorders start during the teenage years. The mechanism on how the disorders affect the development of another is unexplained in the study. And because the participants include few adolescents from lower socioeconomic group, said the researchers, the finding may not apply to all populations. Information regarding use of medications like antidepressants (used for both depression and binge eating disorder) was also not asked to participants.

 

Teenage girls should be screened for both depression and eating disorders

Nevertheless, parents should be aware of symptoms from both disorders like social withdrawal, negative mood and signs of binge eating, though detecting the latter is difficult as binge eaters often hide their behavior. The finding indicates that teenage girls who have symptoms of eating disorders or depression should be screened for presence of both disorders.

The study appears in the December issue of Journal of Adolescent Health.

 

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