MRI brain scans on young people with eating disorders uncovered startling revelations about adult behavior

In Western countries, approximately 18% of young women and 2% of young men have reported struggling with an eating disorder. A new study published in the journal Nature Mental Health examined the relationship between eating behaviors, genetic predispositions, and trajectories of brain maturation in people ages 14 to 23. It found that in some young people with eating disorders, their brains may mature more slowly.

The researchers surveyed 996 participants (478 male and 518 female) on their eating habits. They sorted the participants into three different eating profiles:

• Healthy eaters
• Restrictive eaters (people who eat less to avoid weight gain)
• Emotional/uncontrolled eaters (people who overeat when feeling depressed or anxious)

What the research found

Researchers discovered that restrictive eaters and emotional/uncontrolled eaters behaved differently than healthy eaters. Aside from eating patterns, the non-healthy eaters tended to increasingly internalize their problems (show signs of depression and anxiety) as they got older, while healthy eaters did the opposite. The non-healthy eaters also had higher levels of externalizing their problems (showing signs of inattention or behavior problems), although in all three groups this decreased as participants got older.

In addition, the researchers gave participants MRI scans in order to understand if there were any brain-region differences among the three groups. They found that the brains of participants with non-healthy eating behaviors showed different psychopathologies than those deemed healthy eaters.

As people age, typically their brain volume shrinks. Participants with non-healthy eating behaviors had a slower rate of brain volume reduction. In particular, both groups of non-healthy eaters had cerebellums—the region of the brain in charge of appetite—that matured more slowly.

Zuo Zhang, coauthor of the study, told the American Association for the Advancement of Science: “By showing that different unhealthy eating behaviors are linked to differential trajectories of mental health symptoms and brain development, our findings may inform the design of more personalized interventions.”