Several studies report the highest incidence and point
prevalence of disordered eating in adolescence compared
to other life periods [5, 6]. In our investigation, 19.3 % of
the 11- to 18-year-olds screened positively for an eating
disorder at baseline, in comparison to 13.8 % in young
adulthood at follow-up. The prevalence rates in our study
were very similar to another European population-based
study that used the SCOFF questionnaire [27]. It is known
that puberty and adolescence are critical risk periods for the
development of eating disorders mediated by psychosocial
pressure and hormonal changes [37].
In line with our results, a lower prevalence of eating disorder symptoms
was found in older age groups compared to the youngest
age group in the cross-sectional study mentioned above
[27], as well as in other longitudinal studies [38].