(PS7-26) Early Diets and Conscious Bodies: The Relationship Between Age of First Diet and Interoceptive Awareness

Extant research has documented the relationship between interoceptive awareness (IA) and eating disorders (EDs) for more than 60 years. While the precise causal chain has not been identified, some have suggested that perhaps by promoting an increased desire for weight loss, IA can lead to (or exaggerate the effects of) EDs. Dieting is another well-documented risk factor associated with the prevalence and magnitude of EDs. Nonetheless, the exact nature of the relationship between dieting behavior and EDs remains uncertain. Of course, not all dieting behaviors should be treated equally. We suggest that it is possible that younger dieters may be more at risk of developing EDs. In this research, we explore the possible influence of the age of first diet on measures of IA and disordered eating. We suggest that prioritizing dieting behaviors may come at the expense of listening to one’s internal bodily ‘messages.’ Further, we hypothesize that the earlier the participant's first diet, the greater the suppression of IA is likely to be. We explore these hypotheses on data collected from 196 college students (age _mean = 18.73; age _SD = 0.978) from a large northeastern university (45.9% white; 70.4 % female). Participants completed the Dieting and Weight History Questionnaire (DWHQ) to assess dieting history and the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness – Version 2 (MAIA-2) to measure IA. We estimated a linear regression model, predicting outcomes on these scales as a function of the age of each participant’s first diet (Mean = 14.96, SD = 2.47). Controlling for plausible demographic variables, such as gender, results suggest that reports of earlier dieting behavior are significantly predictive of IA: Earlier dieting predicted higher scores on the not-distracting subscale of the MAIA (b = -0.11; p = 0.003), which measures one’s tendency to distract themself from unpleasant bodily sensations. Other MAIA subscales were not significantly related to the age of first diet. Higher scores on the not distracting MAIA subscale suggest that individuals who diet earlier in life are more aware of their unpleasant physical sensations. Findings may suggest that early dieting in adolescence, impacting an already at-risk group for such psychopathology, may increase the likelihood of ED development. Early intervention is the best predictor of treatment success in EDs. As such, efforts are warranted to prevent dieting in adolescence, particularly in younger individuals. Future research should explore other consequences of early dieting behavior and test interventions aimed at parents or guardians to warn of the augmented ED risk associated with adolescent dieting or specifically targeting IA.