Scientists Link “Cheat Meals” to Eating Disorders

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Sep 13(ABC): The practice of briefly straying from one’s diet to consume calorie-dense meals was most popular among males and connected with binge eating, compulsive exercise, and fasting behaviors.

Over half of men, women, and transgender or gender non-conforming participants engaged in at least one “cheat meal,” which is the practice of deviating from one’s established dietary practices to consume “prohibited” calorie-dense meals only to later return to previous dietary practices, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Eating Disorders.

Cheating on meals during the past 12 months was linked to all seven categories of eating disorder behaviors in women. It was linked to behaviors including binge eating, compulsive exercise, and fasting in men. Finally, among transgender or gender non-conforming individuals, it was connected with overeating and binge-eating habits.

“Research hasn’t fully explored eating behaviors purported to increase muscularity and leanness, such as cheat meals,” says lead author Kyle T. Ganson, Ph.D., MSW, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. “This is particularly important given the popularity of cheat meals that is well documented on social media. We needed to explore whether there are associations between cheat meals and eating disorder psychopathology.”

Ganson and his colleagues examined data from the 2021-2022 Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behaviours, which involved approximately 2,700 adolescents and young adults.