Food Insecurity and Eating Disorders
摘要
This chapter summarizes the state of the evidence regarding the relationship between food insecurity and eating disorder (ED) pathology, helps contextualize why food insecurity might contribute to eating disorder risk, and discusses considerations for clinical and public health practice. Existing evidence lends consistent support for associations between food insecurity and elevated eating disorder pathology cross-sectionally and longitudinally, across youth and adults, and across presentations involving restriction, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors. Factors relevant to understanding these links include inconsistent availability of food, multiple functions of dietary restraint and restriction, and the role of stress. Important clinical and public health implications include the need to screen for food insecurity as a routine component of the intake process for eating disorder treatment and consider patients’ food security throughout the treatment plan, as well as to address food insecurity itself.