India, Oct. 9 -- A new study published in JAMA Network Open involving nearly 9,000 teenagers in the U.S. found that children who owned a smartphone at age 12 were more likely to report symptoms of eating disorders later.
The researchers analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, a large US research project that tracks brain development and health in children and teenagers. Of the total participants, about 70 percent owned a smartphone at age 12, while the remaining did not.
The researchers examined four types of eating disorder symptoms when the participants were 12 and 14 years old. These included binge eating, behaviors intended to prevent weight gain, fear of gaining weight and judging one's self-worth based o...