Can Stress Trigger Eating Disorders?

According to a new study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine stressful life events may trigger eating disorders. The likelihood is increased if an individual suffers from depression or other psychological disorders.

The specific etiology or cause of an eating disorder cannot usually be linked to one factor but instead usually involves multiple factors. Stress or stressful life events has always been considered to be one of the primary factors involved in the development of an eating disorder. Researchers at the University of Valencia in Spain wanted to examine the relationship between stress and eating disorder onset more closely.

They enrolled 32 teens with an eating disorder and 32 healthy matched controls to examine the relationship, if any, between eating disorders and stress. They also accounted for prior psychological disorders because of evidence linking them to eating disorders. Stressful life events and perceived difficult times were assessed through questionaires.

Teens with an eating disorder were more likely to have a pre-existing psychological disorder compared to the healthy controls, 46.9 percent vs. 9.4 percent. Those teens in the eating disorder group reported more stressful life events than healthy controls. Stress caused nearly 10 times the increased risk of developing an eating disorder. In those with eating disorders, stress usually peaked in the weeks before onset of the disorder, perhaps providing a stimulus or trigger.

Stressful life events, or greater perceived stress in teens with a history of psychological disorder was more significantly linked to eating disorder onset. The authors state that prior illness may make a teen more susceptible.

This is just another study that has linked high stress in teens and adolescents to the onset of psychological disorders. Parents and physicians need to be aware of stress levels in teens and work on solving issues before other chronic conditions such as eating disorders develop.