Forscher fanden heraus, dass der Prozess der „Gehirnreifung“, bei dem Volumen und Dicke der Hirnrinde im Jugendalter abnehmen, ein Faktor dafür ist, ob Teenager im jungen Erwachsenenalter ein restriktives oder emotionales/unkontrolliertes Essverhalten entwickeln

>cohort in England, Ireland, France and Germany. Participants provided genetic data, completed questionnaires about their wellbeing and eating behaviours, and had an MRI scan at ages 14 and 23. At age 23, participants were categorised into three types of eating behaviours: healthy eaters (42 per cent), restrictive eaters (33 per cent) and emotional or uncontrolled eaters (25 per cent).
>
>The study found that the three groups had different patterns of mental health and behaviour over time.
>
>Young people with unhealthy eating behaviours at age 23 had higher levels of both internalising problems (for example, anxiety or depression) and externalising problems (for example, hyperactivity, inattention or conduct problems) at age 14, compared to healthy eaters. Internalising problems significantly increased with age between 14 to 23 among unhealthy eaters. Although externalising problems decreased with age in all groups, overall levels were higher among those with emotional or uncontrolled eating.
>
>Restrictive eaters dieted more throughout adolescence compared to healthy eaters. Emotional/uncontrolled eaters increased their dieting between ages 14 to 16 and binge eating between ages 14 to 19, compared to healthy eaters. Unhealthy eating behaviours were linked with obesity and increased genetic risk for high BMI.
>
>Researchers analysed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data at 14 and 23 years to investigate brain maturation over time and how much the volume and thickness of the cortex had decreased. Results indicated that brain maturation was delayed and less pronounced in unhealthy eaters. It played a role in the link between mental health problems at age 14 and development of unhealthy eating behaviours at age 23 and this connection was unrelated to BMI. Reduced brain maturation also helped explain how genetic risk for high BMI influences unhealthy eating behaviours at age 23.
>
>In particular, reduced maturation of the cerebellum – a brain region that controls appetite –helped explain the link between genetic risk for high BMI and restrictive eating behaviours at age 23.

Paper: [Relationships of eating behaviors with psychopathology, brain maturation and genetic risk for obesity in an adolescent cohort study | Nature Mental Health](https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-024-00354-7)