Publication year
2015
Citation Title
Comparison of overweight and obese military-dependent and civilian adolescent girls with loss-of-control eating.
Journal Name
International Journal of Eating Disorders
Journal Volume
48
Issue Number
6
Page Numbers
790-794
DOI
10.1002/eat.22424
Summary
Many female youth suffer from disordered eating, and stress, including military stress, may play a role in eating habits. Eating disorder and depression symptoms, as well as social adjustment, were compared between female military and civilian dependents. Across a variety of measurements (e.g., eating and body image questionnaires, insulin and glucose measurements), military youth had greater disordered eating and depression than civilian youth.
Key Findings
More military dependents (17%) met the criteria for binge eating disorder (BED) than civilian dependents (2%).
Military dependents reported having greater concern with eating, weight, and body shape and more objective binge episodes than their civilian counterparts.
Military dependents reported greater depressive symptoms than civilians, placing them in the mild depression range on average.
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide classes in stress-management for military dependents in order to help prevent or treat the development of eating disorders
Offer workshops that increase awareness about healthy eating habits for military families
Educate military families about the signs of disordered eating among youth
Implications for Policy Makers
Support the development of programs for female military dependents who are struggling with, or are at risk of developing, eating disorders
Recommend professional development for community providers that serve military families and may encounter disordered eating among youth
Encourage military families and dependents to receive regular health screenings
Methods
Participants were recruited from two other studies' samples, a pilot study of military dependents and an efficacy trial of civilian youth, as well as via flyers and mailed advertisements.
Body mass index (BMI), waist-circumference, and insulin and glucose levels were measured, and youth completed questionnaires regarding eating disorder symptoms, depression symptoms, and social adjustment; inclusion criteria included experiencing a loss of control while eating during the past month and having a BMI between the 85th- 97th percentile.
Eating disorder symptoms, depression symptoms, and social adjustment were compared between military and civilian youth, controlling for age, race, and BMI.
Participants
Participants were 23 military and 105 civilian female dependents who were overweight or obese.
Average age was 14.66 years (SD = 1.72) for military dependents and 14.49 years (SD = 1.64) for civilian dependents.
Military youth were 52% White, 22% Black, 17% Multiracial, and 9% unknown; civilian youth were 62% White, 24% Black, 9% Multiracial, 3% Asian Americann, and 4% unknown.
Limitations
Since data were cross-sectional, no causal conlusions can be drawn.
Different processes were used to determine insulin and glucose levels between military and civilian youth, and results of these analyses should be interpreted with caution.
The samples sizes differed greatly, potentially causing error in analyses.
Avenues for Future Research
Collect longitudinal data among military youth to help clarify whether and how the stress associated with military life contributes to the development of eating disorders over time
Explore mediating factors that may explain the differences between military and civilian youths' rates of disordered eating (e.g., irregular schedules, stress levels, social support)
Conduct in-depth, qualitative interviews of military youth to understand how disordered eating develops within this population
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Objective: Limited data suggest that the children of U.S. service members may be at increased risk for disordered-eating. To date, no study has directly compared adolescent military-dependents to their civilian peers along measures of eating pathology and associated correlates. We, therefore, compared overweight and obese adolescent female military-dependents to their civilian counterparts along measures of eating-related pathology and psychosocial functioning. Method: Adolescent females with a BMI between the 85th and 97th percentiles and who reported loss-of-control eating completed interview and questionnaire assessments of eating-related and general psychopathology. Results: Twenty-three military-dependents and 105 civilians participated. Controlling for age, race, and BMI-z, military-dependents reported significantly more binge episodes per month (p < 0.01), as well as greater eating-concern, shape-concern, and weight-concern (p's < 0.01) than civilians. Military-dependents also reported more severe depression (p < 0.05). Discussion: Adolescent female military-dependents may be particularly vulnerable to disordered-eating compared with civilian peers. This potential vulnerability should be considered when assessing military-dependents.
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