Eating Disorders in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study 

Jason Nagata, MD, MSc

We are analyzing national data that has followed adolescents 9-10 years old. We are examining the epidemiology, risk factors, and health consequences of adolescent eating disorders, especially binge-eating disorder. We are particularly examining the role of social media as a risk factor for eating disorders.

We describe the risk factors of eating disorders in early adolescents. Identifying as gay/bisexual, male sex, and low household income were associated with binge-eating behaviors in early adolescents. More social media time was associated with development of binge-eating disorder one year later. Cyberbullying, food insecurity, and adverse childhood experiences are also associated with the development of eating disorder symptoms in early adolescence.

For more information about this study, please go to: https://nagatalab.ucsf.edu/

Related Publications List:

Al-Shoaibi AAA, Lavender JM, Kim SJ, Shao IY, Ganson KT, Testa A, He J, Glidden DV, Baker FC, Nagata JM. Association of body mass index with progression from binge-eating behavior into binge-eating disorder among adolescents in the United States: A prospective analysis of pooled data. Appetite. 2024.

Al-Shoaibi AAA, Shao IY, Ganson KT, Lavender JM, Testa A, Kiss O, He J, Glidden DV, Baker FC, Nagata JM. Prospective association of screen time with binge-eating disorder among adolescents in the United States: The mediating role of depression. Int J Eat Disord. 2024.

Cheng CM, Chu J, Ganson KT, Trompeter N, Testa A, Jackson DB, He J, Glidden DV, Baker FC, Nagata JM. Cyberbullying and eating disorder symptoms in US early adolescents. Int J Eat Disord. 2023.

Chu J, Raney JH, Ganson KT, Wu K, Rupanagunta A, Testa A, Jackson DB, Murray SB, Nagata JM. Adverse childhood experiences and binge-eating disorder in early adolescents. J Eat Disord. 2022.

Murray SB, Alba C, Duval CJ, Nagata JM, Cabeen RP, Lee DJ, Toga AW, Siegel SJ, Jann K. Aberrant functional connectivity between reward and inhibitory control networks in pre-adolescent binge eating disorder. Psychol Med. 2023.

Murray SB, Duval CJ, Balkchyan AA, Cabeen RP, Nagata JM, Toga AW, Siegel SJ, Jann K. Regional gray matter abnormalities in pre-adolescent binge eating disorder: A voxel-based morphometry study. Psychiatry Res. 2022.

Nagata JM, Chu J, Cervantez L, Ganson KT, Testa A, Jackson DB, Murray SB, Weiser SD. Food insecurity and binge-eating disorder in early adolescence. Int J Eat Disord. 2023;56(6):1233-9. Epub 2023/04/05.

Nagata JM, Iyer P, Chu J, Baker FC, Gabriel KP, Garber AK, Murray SB, Bibbins-Domingo K, Ganson KT. Contemporary screen time usage among children 9-10-years-old is associated with higher body mass index percentile at 1-year follow-up: A prospective cohort study. Pediatr Obes. 2021.

Nagata JM, Iyer P, Chu J, Baker FC, Pettee Gabriel K, Garber AK, Murray SB, Bibbins-Domingo K, Ganson KT. Contemporary screen time modalities among children 9-10 years old and binge-eating disorder at one-year follow-up: A prospective cohort study. Int J Eat Disord. 2021.

Nagata JM, Smith-Russack Z, Paul A, Saldana GA, Shao IY, Al-Shoaibi AAA, Chaphekar AV, Downey AE, He J, Murray SB, Baker FC, Ganson KT. The social epidemiology of binge-eating disorder and behaviors in early adolescents. J Eat Disord. 2023.

Raney JH, Al-Shoaibi AA, Shao IY, Ganson KT, Testa A, Jackson DB, He J, Glidden DV, Nagata JM. Racial discrimination is associated with binge-eating disorder in early adolescents: A cross-sectional analysis. J Eat Disord. 2023 Aug 17.