Kendrin R Sonneville

Harvard Medical School | HMS · Department of Pediatrics

Background The minority of people with an eating disorder receive treatment. Little is known about predictors of receiving treatment. Methods Using data from the Growing Up Today Study we identified correlates of receiving treatment for an eating disorder among the 1237 U.S. women who answered questions on treatment history in 2013 and reported me...

While the construct of food addiction has been controversial, there is growing evidence that certain foods can activate biobehavioral and neurological mechanisms consistent with addiction to other substances. Despite increased evidence and acceptance of certain foods as addictive substances amongst the scientific community, there is a paucity of in...

Background The current study examined whether weight perception or age moderated associations between time spent on image-based social media and weight bias internalization (WBI). Methods Data come from the baseline visit of the Tracking Our Lives Study, a randomized control trial of college women (n = 200). Participants completed questionnaires a...

This study estimated the social and economic costs of body dissatisfaction and appearance-based discrimination (specifically, weight and skin-shade discrimination) in the United States (USA) in the 2019 calendar year. We used a prevalence-based approach and a cost-of-illness method to estimate the annual cost of harmful appearance ideals for cases...

BACKGROUND Pediatric obesity rates in the United States remain at an all-time high. Pediatric primary care clinicians and registered dietitians can help treat childhood obesity, and motivational interviewing (MI) has shown promising effects in prior trials. METHODS We randomized 18 pediatric primary care practices to receive the Brief Motivational...

Eating disorders are serious mental health disorders characterized by persistent disturbances in eating that impair physical health and/or psychosocial functioning. Widespread screening for eating disorders can help reduce disparities in diagnosis and may prevent the physical, psychological, and social consequences associated with delayed treatment...

Background The minority of people with an eating disorder receive treatment. Little is known about predictors of receiving treatment. Methods Using data from the Growing Up Today Study we identified correlates of receiving treatment for an eating disorder among the 1237 U.S. women who answered questions on treatment history in 2013 and reported me...

Weight misperception has been seen as a threat to public health. We aimed to understand the meaning of weight misperception by examining associations of weight perception with body satisfaction and body awareness along with healthy ideals and culturally normative body ideals. Undergraduates with higher weights at a Mid-South University (n = 166) co...

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of eating disorders, but there are disparities in eating disorder risk among adolescents. One population that may be at increased risk but is vastly understudied, is adolescents residing in rural regions within the United States. Rural communities face many mental and physical health disparitie...

This study explored cross-sectional associations between prior weight stigma experiences, physical activity (PA) intentions, behaviors, and the acute effects of a weight stigma exposure on PA intentions and behaviors among undergraduate students. Weight-stigma experiences and behavioral intentions were self-reported. Moderate-to-vigorous PA and tot...

PurposeTo examine cross-sectional associations between food insecurity and 12-month eating disorders, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders among U.S. adults.Methods This study used data collected between 2001 and 2003 from 2914 participants in the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication, a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (mean age...

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the association between indicators of social adversity, including socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity, and children's disordered eating behaviors and attitudes. Methods: Children ages 8-10 years old (n = 183) were recruited from Michigan. Data were collected through in-home surveys. The Ch...

Objective: Eating disorders are one of the deadliest mental health conditions, yet most individuals with eating disorders never receive treatment. Previous research has explored barriers to treatment among individuals diagnosed with eating disorders, but little is known about general adolescent and emerging adult perceptions of eating disorders, a...

Objective: To examine the relation of caregiver-reported household food insecurity (FI) and child-reported FI with eating disorder (ED) risk factors and symptoms, including effect modification by gender, in preadolescent children. Method: Data were from the Family Food Study, a cross-sectional study of households with incomes ≤200% of the federa...

Objective The current study examines impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on weight/shape control behaviors among adolescents and young adults in the U.S., and perceived changes to related social media content. Method A sample of youth (14–24 years) from MyVoice, a national text-message-based cohort, provided open-ended responses to questions on chang...

PurposeTo explore intersectional differences in weight perception accuracy in a diverse sample of young adults using CDC-defined weight status labels and four separate figure rating scales (FRS). Methods This cross-sectional study of 322 18–25-year-olds with body mass index (BMI) ranging from 18.5 to 57.2 (MBMI = 26.01, SD = 6.46) enrolled particip...

The present study explored college women’s perceptions of how dietary self-monitoring alters eating and body image-related cognitions and behaviors. The sample consisted of undergraduate women (N = 20), aged ≥ 18 (mean = 21.9 ± 6.6 years) from a cross-sectional qualitative study using semi-structured interviews conducted upon participants’ completi...

Introduction : Racial differences in type 2 diabetes risk persist among non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White adolescents with overweight/obesity; however, the role of psychological stress in this disparity is less clear Purpose : To examine racial differences in the association between psychological stress, insulin sensitivity (Si), acute ins...

Purpose To examine the longitudinal associations between parental perceptions of their child’s actual weight (PPCA = parental perception of child’s actual) and ideal weight (PPCI = parental perception of child ideal) in early childhood and the child’s own perceptions of their actual weight (APA = adolescent perceived actual) and ideal weight (API =...

Background Strong positive relationships between dietary self-monitoring and eating disorder risk are seen in population-based, observational studies. However, current evidence cannot establish causality. Furthermore, little is known about other mental and behavioral health consequences of dietary self-monitoring among college women, a population v...

Purpose of review: Although the set point is one of the best understood weight defense mechanisms, how and when a set point is established and what causes its disruption are not well understood. The purpose of this review is to address these gaps in the literature by exploring studies on the establishment of the set point theory and the underlying...

Objective To identify patterns of technology-based weight-related self-monitoring (WRSM) and assess associations between identified patterns and eating disorder behaviors among first year university students. Methods First year university students (n=647) completed a web-based survey to assess their use of technology-based WRSM and eating disorder...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between acute daily stress dimensions (frequency, sum) and food intake in adolescents with overweight/obesity, and to explore the potential moderating effect of disordered eating behaviors on these associations. Methods: One hundred eighty-two adolescents with overweight/obesity...

Self-regulation, known as the ability to harness cognitive, emotional, and motivational resources to achieve goals, is hypothesized to contribute to health behaviors across the lifespan. Enhancing self-regulation early in life may increase positive health outcomes. During pre-adolescence, children assume increased autonomy in health behaviors (e.g....

Introduction Eating disorders are often under-detected, which poses a serious threat to the health of individuals with eating disorder symptoms. There is evidence to suggest that the military represents a subpopulation that may be susceptible to high prevalence of eating disorders and vulnerable to their underdiagnosis. Underreporting of eating dis...

Background College students experience a disproportionately high prevalence of both food insecurity and eating disorders. Food insecurity is associated with stress, irregular eating patterns, weight change, depression, and body dissatisfaction, making it a possible risk factor for the onset of eating disorders. However, the association between food...

Purpose The purpose of this study was 2-fold: 1) to determine the cross-sectional associations between psychological stress, physical activity enjoyment, and physical activity participation [moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), total physical activity (TPA)]; and 2) to determine the moderating effect of physical activity enjoyment on the...

Objective To characterize patterns of weight‐related self‐monitoring (WRSM) among US undergraduate and graduate students and examine associations between identified patterns of WRSM and eating disorder symptomology. Method Undergraduate and graduate students from 12 US colleges and universities (N = 10,010) reported the frequency with which they u...

Concern regarding childhood obesity remains a primary focus of public health officials, clinicians, individuals, and families in the United States. Accordingly, numerous weight-focused public health interventions, such as school-based body mass index (BMI) screenings and report cards sent home to notify parents of their child’s weight status, have...

Objective To explore explicit beliefs about the controllability of obesity and the internalisation of negative weight-related stereotypes among public health trainees. Design Cross-sectional online survey assessing explicit beliefs about the controllability of obesity using the Beliefs About Obese Persons Scale (BAOP) and internalisation of weight...

Background: Psychological and behavioral correlates are considered important in the development and persistence of obesity in both adults and youth. This study aimed to identify such features in youth with severe obesity (BMI ≥ 120% of 95thpercentile of sex-specific BMI-for-age) compared to those with overweight or non-severe obesity. Methods: Y...

Definitions for the culturally trendy "clean" eating phenomenon vary: whereas some characterize it as natural and healthy, others adopt more restrictive, moralizing, and affectively-laden definitions that may reflect disordered eating. We examined levels of familiarity with "clean" eating, sources of information, and perceptions of this dietary tre...

Objectives To develop and validate the Eating Disorders Screen for Athletes (EDSA), a brief eating disorders screening tool for use in both male and female athletes. Methods: Data from Division I athletes at a Midwestern university (N = 434) were used to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA) by gender. Data from athletes competing at various le...

Objective To examine differences in eating disorder (ED) risk and diagnosis by sexual orientation in a national sample of college students. Method Data from 178 U.S. colleges and universities participating in the Healthy Minds Study between 2016 and 2019 were analyzed (36,691 cisgender men, 81,730 cisgender women; 15.7% self‐identifying as sexual...

The use of e-cigarettes among youths has reached epidemic proportions in the United States.¹ Juul is the most popular brand of e-cigarettes among youth, and it has been criticized for marketing that targets youths.² Concerns of serious short-term and long-term health outcomes from e-cigarette use have led to actions from the US Food and Drug Admini...

PurposeTo examine the relationship of disordered eating behaviors and eating disorder (ED) diagnosis in young adults with health-related quality of life (HRQL) and to assess the presence of effect modification by gender.Methods In 2013, participants (N = 9440, ages 18–31 years) in the U.S. Growing Up Today Study cohort reported use of disordered ea...

Objective: To assess the relationship between dietary self-monitoring and problematic alcohol use including binge drinking, increased body confidence while drinking, and restricting food intake to compensate for alcohol consumption, among college students. Participants: Undergraduate and graduate students from 12 US colleges participating in the He...

Objective: To examine associations between psychological stress and dieting behavior along with the heterogeneity of this association by gender and race in a diverse sample of adolescents with overweight/obesity. Methods: One hundred and sixty-one adolescents between the ages of 13-19 years of age with overweight/obesity (65% female; 53% non-His...

Objectives. To investigate the prospective association of diet pill and laxative use for weight control with subsequent first eating disorder diagnosis in young women. Methods. We used longitudinal data from 10 058 US women spanning 2001 through 2016. We used multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and overweigh...

The use of the word obese is common in health care settings and within public health campaigns. Understanding responses of youth to weight-related terms such as obese can provide important context to the potential implications associated with using this term. We conducted an open-ended survey of 1,266 adolescents and emerging adults (ages 14–24) pa...

Full-text link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X1930477X?dgcid=author. Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine mother-child connectedness and father-child connectedness in adolescence as potential protective factors against a range of disordered eating symptoms in young adulthood among males and females. Methods:...

Objective: To examine suicide risk by eating disorder severity and symptom presentation in a nationwide sample of college students. Method: The Healthy Minds Study is the largest mental health survey of college populations in the United States. We analyzed the most recent available data (2015-2017) with 71,712 randomly selected students from 77...

Background: Childhood maltreatment is associated with eating disorders, but types of childhood maltreatment often co-occur. Objective: To examine associations between childhood maltreatment patterns and eating disorder symptoms in young adulthood. Participants and setting: Data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult H...

Background Psychological and behavioral correlates are considered important in the development and persistence of obesity in both adults and youth. This study aimed to identify such features in youth with severe obesity (BMI ≥ 120% of 95th percentile of sex-specific BMI-for-age) compared to those with overweight or non-severe obesity. Methods Youth...

Background: Psychological and behavioral correlates are considered important in the development and persistence of obesity in both adults and youth. This study aimed to identify such features in youth with severe obesity (BMI ³ 120% of 95th percentile of sex-specific BMI-for-age) compared to those with overweight or non-severe obesity. Methods: You...

Little guidance is available to clinicians on how to talk about weight with their patients. The aim of this study is to explore youth preferences for weight-related conversations. Participants came from the National MyVoice Text Message Cohort. Between 7/2017 and 01/2018, 952 MyVoice participants provided open-ended responses via text message to th...

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess whether girls with mothers who have had an eating disorder (ED) have greater odds of developing ED symptoms and whether girls with ED symptoms have greater odds of receiving ED treatment if their mothers have an ED history. Methods: Data came from 3,649 females in the Growing Up Today Study. Data were...

Due to stigma, eating disorders are under-researched, underdiagnosed and undertreated among men. This is particularly pertinent among athletes, as athletic goals are a major risk factor for disordered eating in men. This gender stereotype may be reinforced by eating disorder risk assessment tools that better reflect female symptoms. We examine an e...

Objective: To examine longitudinal associations between binge eating-related concerns (i.e., cognitions associated with binge eating, such as embarrassment over amount eaten and fear of losing control over eating) and depressive symptoms among U.S. young adults and assess whether associations differ by race/ethnicity. Methods: This study used lo...

The food industry is a for-profit industry with high relevance to universal eating disorders prevention. To date, policy which targets the food industry and food environment has been underutilized in efforts to decrease the incidence of eating disorders and associated risk factors. In contrast, food policy has been extensively leveraged with the ai...

Purpose: To quantify eating disorder (ED) stability and diagnostic transition among a community-based sample of adolescents and young adult females in the United States. Methods: Using 11 prospective assessments from 9,031 U.S. females ages 9-15 years at baseline of the Growing Up Today Study, we classified cases of the following EDs involving b...

Weight misperception is the belief that one is of a normal or healthy body weight despite being overweight or obese. Weight misperception has been established as protective against further weight gain in adolescents, in comparison to those who accurately perceive their elevated weight status. However, less is known about the individual factors that...

Simultaneous contributions of self-esteem, depression, and anxiety to weight and perceived physical health in young adults is understudied. A diverse sample of 424 young adults completed measures of shape/weight based self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and perceived physical health. Height and weight were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI)....

Background: Weight misperception occurs when there is a discrepancy between one's actual and perceived weight status. Among adolescents with overweight/obesity, many believe that correcting weight misperception is imperative to inspire weight-related behavior change. However, past research has shown that adolescents with overweight/obesity who mis...

This study examined the cross-sectional associations between gender-linked personality traits and use of products for weight loss and muscle building using data from young adults participating in Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health who completed the short-form Bem Sex-Role Inventory (n = 3,343). Among men, a hi...

Objective: Accurate perception of one's weight status is believed to be necessary to motivate weight loss intention and subsequent weight loss among those with overweight/obesity. This proposed pathway, however, is understudied in longitudinal research. This study examined the indirect effect of weight change intention on the relationship between...

Objective: To examine prevalence of weight misperception (incongruence between one's perceived weight status and one's actual weight status) and disordered weight control behaviors (DWCBs; unhealthy behaviors aiming to control or modify weight), associations between weight misperception and DWCBs, and temporal trends in prevalence and associations...

Purpose: Weight bias can negatively impact health, and schools may be risky environments for students with obesity. We aimed to explore teachers' perceptions of the school experiences and academic challenges of students with obesity. Methods: We conducted interviews with 22 teachers in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest in July-August 2014...

Diagnostic criteria for eating disorders (ED) remain largely based on clinical presentations, but do not capture the full range of behaviours in the population. We aimed to derive an empirically based ED behaviour classification using behavioural and body mass index (BMI) indicators at three time-points in adolescence, and to validate classes inves...

Purpose: Underestimating one's weight is often seen as a barrier to weight loss. However, recent research has shown that weight underperception may be beneficial, with lower future weight gain and fewer depressive symptoms. Here, we examine the relationship between adolescent weight underperception and future blood pressure. Methods: Using data...

This study aims to determine the association between weight misperception (considering oneself average or underweight) and depressive symptoms among youth with overweight/obesity. Linear regression models (adjusted for age, BMI, parental education, percent poverty) were used to examine cross-sectional (wave II, 1996, n = 3898, Mage = 15.9, SD = 0.1...

Background: Use of laxatives for weight loss and drugs or supplements to build muscle (eg, steroids) differs by gender and sexual orientation; little is known about factors contributing to these disparities. Conformity to gender norms concerning appearance could underlie these differences. Methods: This study examined associations between childh...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-sectional association between weight misperception among young adults with overweight/obesity and disordered eating behaviors. Method: In a subsample of young adults with overweight or obesity participating in Wave III (2001-2002) of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Ad...

Objective Research on the manifestations and health correlates of eating disorder symptoms among males is lacking. This study identified patterns of appearance concerns and eating disorder behaviors from adolescence through young adulthood and their health correlates. Method Participants were 7,067 males from the prospective Growing Up Today Study...

Objective To examine the relationship between gender expression (GE) and BMI in adolescence. Methods Repeated measures of weight-related behaviors and BMI were collected 1996-2011 via annual/biennial self-report surveys from youth ages 10 to 23 years (6,693 females, 2,978 males) in the longitudinal Growing Up Today Study. GE (very conforming [refe...

Background: Very little is known about the economic burden of eating disorders (ED) and related mental health comorbidities. Methods: Using 5 years of data from the U.S. Medical Expenditures Panel Survey, we estimated the difference in annual health care costs, employment status, and earned income (2011 US$) between individuals with current ED c...

Policy makers seeking to reduce childhood obesity must prioritize investment in treatment and primary prevention. We estimated the cost-effectiveness of seven interventions high on the obesity policy agenda: a sugar-sweetened beverage excise tax; elimination of the tax subsidy for advertising unhealthy food to children; restaurant menu calorie labe...

Background/Objective Weight misperception is common among adolescents with obesity, but it is not known whether weight perception is related to future weight gain. The objective of the study was to examine the prospective association between accurate weight perception versus weight misperception and weight change among youth who are overweight or o...

Food and beverage TV advertising contributes to childhood obesity. The current tax treatment of advertising as an ordinary business expense in the U.S. subsidizes marketing of nutritionally poor foods and beverages to children. This study models the effect of a national intervention that eliminates the tax subsidy of advertising nutritionally poor...

The childhood obesity epidemic continues in the U.S., and fiscal crises are leading policymakers to ask not only whether an intervention works but also whether it offers value for money. However, cost-effectiveness analyses have been limited. This paper discusses methods and outcomes of four childhood obesity interventions: (1) sugar-sweetened beve...

To investigate whether anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and other specified feeding and eating disorders (OSFED), including purging disorder (PD), subthreshold BN, and BED at ages 14 and 16 years, are prospectively associated with later depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol and substance use, and self-harm....

Background. Identifying childhood predictors of binge eating and understanding risk mechanisms could help improve prevention and detection efforts. The aim of this study was to examine whether features of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as childhood eating disturbances, predicted binge eating later in adolescence. Method. W...

To examine how obesogenic behaviors (consumption of sugary drinks, physical activity, and/or sedentary behaviors) differ among adolescents within and across generation. Data come from the 2008 Boston Youth Survey, a population-based sample of 9th-12th-graders in 22 public high schools in Boston, MA. We used self-reported information to calculate ge...

Objective To examine the relationship between gender expression (GE) and BMI in adolescence. Methods Repeated measures of weight‐related behaviors and BMI were collected from 1996 to 2011 via annual/biennial self‐report surveys from youth aged 10 to 23 years (6,693 females, 2,978 males) in the longitudinal Growing Up Today Study. GE (very conformi...

Objectives To examine the tracking and significance of beverage consumption in infancy and childhood.Methods Among 1163 children in Project Viva, we examined associations of fruit juice and water intake at 1 year (0 oz, 1-7 oz [small], 8-15 oz [medium], and ≥16 oz [large]) with juice and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake and BMI z-score during...

Objectives: The current standards for classifying eating disorders were primarily informed by adult, clinical study populations, while it is unknown whether an empirically based classification system can be supported across preadolescence through young adulthood. Using latent class analyses, we sought to empirically classify disordered eating in f...

We investigated whether overvaluation of weight, defined as having a high degree of concern with weight such that it unduly influences self-evaluation, was prospectively associated with binge eating onset among overweight adolescent girls and whether overvaluation of weight signaled greater impairment among those with weekly binge eating. We used g...

Objective Sales of regular soda were declining, but sales of other sweetened beverages, such as sports drinks, were increasing. Our objective was to determine the prospective associations between sports drinks and body mass index (BMI) gains among adolescents and young adults.Methods4121 females and 3438 males in the Growing Up Today Study II, aged...

Background: Youth spend more time with screens than any activity except sleeping. Screen time is a risk factor for obesity, possibly because of the influence of food and beverage advertising on diet. Objective: We sought to assess longitudinal relations of screen time [ie, television, electronic games, digital versatile discs (DVDs)/videos, and...

Surveillance data describing the weight status of the U.S. population often rely on self-reported height and weight, despite likely differences in reporting accuracy by demographics. Our objective was to determine if there were racial/ethnic differences in accuracy of self-reported Body Mass Index (BMI) in a diverse nationally representative sample...