Individuals With History Of Eating Disorders Have Poorer Quality Diets - Brief Article

Nutrition Research Newsletter, Feb, 2001

There is very limited data concerning the tracking of previous eating-disordered patients and the adequacy of their diets following treatment. Of great concern in the eating-disordered patient is the long-term effect on bone health, especially the potential contribution poor dietary practices have on adult osteoporosis. A desired outcome following intervention programs for eating disorders is to sustain dietary and activity practices associated with normal weight and desirable health status.

The objective of a recent study was to compare food patterns, dietary adequacy, supplement usage, and physical activity in females with histories of eating disordered (HxED) in comparison to age, weight, and sex-matched controls. The subjects were composed of 25 Caucasian, eumenorrheic females' ages 16-22 with histories of diagnosed eating disorders, and 25 young females with no histories of eating-disordered behavior. The HxED subjects were excluded if they were currently undergoing any form of treatment for their eating disorder. Trained interviewers collected data including demographic information, medical history, food intake using one 24-hour recall, and use of dietary supplements and over-the-counter products. Subjects were instructed to complete a 2-day food record and were given instructions in doing so. A physical activity questionnaire, developed for this study using literature sources and recommendations from an exercise physiologist, was used to assess retrospectively recent physical activity.

It was discovered that the individuals with histories of eating disorders had lower dietary intakes of energy and eight essential nutrients when compared with the control group. Neither group met the DRIs for calcium or folate. There were no significant group differences in mean intakes for carbohydrate, Vitamins [B.sub.6], [B.sub.12], A, C, D, niacin, iron, and folate. The HxED group means for vitamin D, magnesium, calcium, folate, and zinc were especially low. For both groups, protein comprised 14% of total energy. The control group selected meat, dairy products, desserts, and sweetened beverage more often than the HxED group. The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of retrospective physical activity.

From this data it appears that counseling efforts should emphasize improving dietary quality, particularly focusing on sources of calcium, magnesium, zinc, folate, and vitamin D.

B. Carruth, J. Skinner. Dietary and physical activity patterns of young females with histories of eating disorders. Top Clin Nutr 16:13-23 (December 2000) [Correspondence: Jean D. Skinner, PhD, RD, Professor of Nutrition. Department of Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN].