Eating disorders put teens at risk for depression, bullying

The findings were limited by several factors, including the inability to analyze different types of eating disorders and the use of self-reports to assess bullying, the researchers said. However, the results support the value of targeting disordered eating behavior to help reduce the risk of other mental health problems, they noted.

“Interventions for disordered eating behavior should ideally target negative attitudes, promote healthy weight control behavior, and contain an element of self-compassion, which can reduce symptoms of disordered eating and other psychopathologic symptoms,” they wrote.

The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose. The study was supported in part by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation, the Canadian Institute of Health Research, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

SOURCE: Lee KS and Vaillancourt T. JAMA Psychiatry 2018 Apr 11. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.0284.