Parental dieting impacts inpatient treatment outcomes for adolescents with restrictive eating disorders

Objective: Parental feeding practices and disordered eating are potential risk factors for the development of disordered eating in children and adolescents. This study measured the relationship between parental dieting behaviours and inpatient treatment outcomes for adolescents with restrictive eating disorders (EDs). Method: Parents of adolescents with restrictive EDs (N = 45) admitted to a specialty integrated inpatient-partial hospital meal-based ED treatment programme completed questionnaires assessing parental eating and exercise behaviours. Adolescent clinical data, including percentage median body mass index (%mBMI) at admission and discharge and rate of weight gain, were abstracted from the electronic medical record. Results: Adolescents whose parents reported dieting had a slower rate of weight gain (3.47 lbs./week) compared to participants whose parents were not dieting (4.54 lbs./week; p = 0.017). Additionally, participants whose parents reported dieting had a lower %mBMI at programme discharge (M = 93.56) than participants whose parents did not report dieting (M = 95.99; p = 0.033). Conclusion: Parental dieting behaviours may impact an adolescent's response to inpatient ED treatment. Findings suggest a need to assess parental dieting behaviour, and when appropriate, provide additional psychoeducation regarding the potential risks of weight or shape-focussed dialogue and the benefits of modelling adaptive meal behaviours.