Recommendations for Advancing Understanding of Eating Disorders in Neurodivergent People: A Commentary on Inal-Kaleli et al. 2024 and Nimbley et al. 2024

Abstract

Two recent reviews in the International Journal of Eating Disorders have highlighted the preponderance and unmet needs of neurodivergent people who experience disordered eating. In this commentary, we encourage researchers to engage with the bigger question of “What's Next?” and consider the type of research that is needed to shift the dial by lowering the incidence and persistence of disordered eating in neurodivergent people. As a starting point, we believe that future research must be guided by the needs and priorities of neurodivergent people with experience of eating disorders. Based on our own experience of community collaboration, we make specific recommendations for future research: (1) Broadening the Scope; such that we expand the focus beyond anorexia nervosa, and consider other manifestations of disordered eating, such as restriction, binge eating and emotional eating, and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), but also acknowledge the impact of other forms of neurodivergence beyond autism (e.g., ADHD), (2) Identifying Causal Mechanisms; moving beyond describing prevalence to studying why and how neurodevelopmental traits are associated with disordered eating (which in turn will inform new intervention design), and (3) Adapting Existing Interventions; understanding how current interventions can be adapted to meet the needs of neurodivergent individuals.