Putting your child on a diet could

have unintended consequences

Women who were put on diets as young girls
are more likely to struggle with obesity, alcohol
abuse and disordered eating as adults, according
to preliminary research presented at the Annual
Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive
Behavior.
We were able to demonstrate that younger
age at !rst diet actually predicted health problems
in the future, wrote the study"s principal
investigator #amela $eel in an email to %he
&u'ngton #ost. If corroborated by further
investigation, the !ndings could lead e(perts to
consider early dieting as a risk factor for more
serious problems, $eel e(plained.
$eel and team found that for each year
younger at !rst diet, a woman"s risk of these
associations became stronger. )or e(ample, a
woman who !rst dieted at age ** would be *+
percent more likely to have an eating disorder, ,-
percent more likely to abuse alcohol and .,
percent more likely to be overweight or obese by
her thirties than someone who !rst dieted at */
years.
Why this association e(ists remains an open
0uestion. $eel, a psychology professor at )lorida
State 1niversity, theori2ed that food restriction
could actually a3ect neural pathways. 4ne
possibility is that restricting food intake earlier in
life may in5uence brain development in ways that
alter sensitivity to rewards, like food and alcohol,
that could increase risk for overconsumption and
related problems in life, she said.