BACKGROUND: Relatively little is known about the dietary intake and nutritional status of community-based individuals with eating disorders. This research aimed to: (i) describe the dietary intake of population-based adolescents with an eating disorder and (ii) examine associations between eating disorder symptoms, fatty acid intake and depressive symptoms in adolescents with and without an eating disorder.

METHODS: Data were drawn from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study, a population-based cohort study that has followed participants from birth to young adulthood. This research utilised self-report data from the 17-year Raine Study assessment. Participants comprised 429 female adolescents who completed comprehensive questionnaire measures on dietary intake, eating disorder symptoms and depressive symptoms.

RESULTS: Adolescents with an eating disorder (n = 66) reported a significantly lower intake of total fat, saturated fat, omega-6 fatty acid, starch, vitamin A and vitamin E compared to adolescents without an eating disorder (n = 363). Adolescents with an eating disorder and pronounced depressive symptoms (n = 23) also reported a significantly lower intake of polyunsaturated fat and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid than adolescents with an eating disorder but no marked depression (n = 43). In the eating disorder sample but not the control sample, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid correlated significantly and negatively with eating disorder symptoms and with depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: Support is provided for a relationship between low omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid intake and depressive symptoms in adolescents with eating disorders. Research is needed to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of fatty acid supplementation in this high-risk group.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	adolescence, depression, eating disorders, fatty acids, nutrition, Raine Study
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Nutrition and dietetics
Research Field:	Sport and exercise nutrition
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:	Nutrition
UTAS Author:	Oddy, WH (Professor Wendy Oddy)
ID Code:	107901
Year Published:	2013
Web of Science® Times Cited:	19
Deposited By:	Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Deposited On:	2016-03-31
Last Modified:	2017-11-06
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