Disordered eating associated with low self-worth, anxiety, and depression
In young adulthood in both groups, disordered eating was associated with lower self-worth. In the surgical group, it was also associated with lower weight-related quality of life, and in the nonsurgical group, it was also associated with anxiety and/or depression.
“The current findings cannot tell us whether disordered eating is a direct result or caused by anxiety, depression, low self-worth, or poor quality of life,” Dr. Decker said.
“These findings do give us insight about what other areas of clinical concern might present together [in] young adults (e.g., disordered eating, low self-esteem).”
Bariatric surgery affects the amount of food people can eat at one time, she noted in reply to a question from the audience. If people eat too much at a time they can experience vomiting, dumping syndrome (where certain food is “dumped” into the small intestine without being digested, causing nausea and vomiting), and plugging (a sense of food becoming stuck).
The home environment and transition to adulthood might impact disordered eating in young adults, she said in reply to another question, but these issues were not examined in this study.
A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.