Onset of adolescent eating disorders: Population based cohort study over 3 years

Abstract

Objective. To study the predictors of new eating disorders in an adolescent cohort. Design. Cohort study over 3 years with six waves. Subjects. Students, initially aged 14-15 years, from 44 secondary schools in the state of Victoria, Australia. Outcome measures. Weight (kg), height (cm), dieting (adolescent dieting scale), psychiatric morbidity (revised clinical interview schedule), and eating disorder (branched eating disorders test). Eating disorder (partial syndrome) was defined when a subject met two criteria for either anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV). Results. At the start of the study, ..