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Adolescent disordered eating: Associations among food insecurity, stress, and emotional eating patterns
Disordered eating in adolescents is influenced by several environmental and psychological factors, such as food insecurity, stress, and emotional eating. This study by Andrade, Balantekin & Temple (2025) explored the relationships among these elements, with particular attention to how adolescent and parent perceptions of food insecurity differ. The goal was to assess how food insecurity, perceived stress, and emotional eating each relate to disordered eating, as well as how they might interact. The research included 118 adolescents aged 11–14 from low to moderate-income families who participated in the two-year UB-EATS (University at Buffalo Eating Among Teens Study). Both adolescents and their parents completed surveys to determine food insecurity status. Disordered eating behaviors were measured using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), stress levels were evaluated with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and emotional eating was assessed using the Emotional Eating Scale for Children (EES-C). Results showed that adolescents’ own reports of food insecurity—but not those from parents—were significantly linked to higher levels of stress, emotional eating, and disordered eating. Additionally, emotional eating was a strong predictor of disordered eating, with stress acting as a moderator in this relationship. These findings highlight the need for interventions to consider adolescents’ perspectives on food insecurity and stress when addressing disordered eating behaviors. [NPID: Adolescent food insecurity, disordered eating, perceived stress, emotional eating, adolescent perception, UB-EATS, parent-adolescent discrepancies]
Year: 2025
