Project: Investigating the role of inhibitory control to explain binge eating in adolescents

Over the past decade, research on binge eating (BE) in youth has expanded, but the mechanisms underlying this pathological eating behavior remain unclear.

It is the aim of the present project to increase insight into BE in adolescents by

1. Clarifying the role of top-down self-regulatory processes, more specifically inhibitory control (IC) and its interaction with automatic processes.
2. Examining whether modification of IC in the lab and in real life has a positive effect on adolescents’ self-regulatory capacities and BE behavior.

This knowledge is important to inform both developmental risk models as well as to refine prevention, screening and early intervention strategies for eating and weight disorders in youth.

• PhD-student: Eva Van Malderen
• Promotor: Lien Goossens
• Funding: Special Research Funds Ghent University
• You can find the poster of the project here.