Purpose Intuitive eating (IE) is an adaptive eating construct for which little research exists in eating disorder (ED) samples. IE is negatively correlated with disordered eating behaviors in healthy adolescents and adults, and similar associations have been found in adults with EDs. This study aims to examine IE in a treatment seeking sample of adolescents and their parents to understand its role in weight gain during FBT. Methods Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations were calculated in a sample of 47 pairs of adolescent patients and their parents who initiated outpatient FBT at a large academic medical center. Analyses examined parent and adolescent IE, weight gain at session 4 and end of treatment (EOT), clinical impairment, and eating disorder pathology. Results Significant correlations were found between aspects of adolescent IE, ED symptoms, and clinical impairment. Aspects of parent IE were negatively related to their child’s weight and shape concerns, and Global EDE-Q score at baseline. Parent IE (Eating for Physical rather than Emotional Reasons) was positively associated with adolescent weight gain at session 4 and EOT. Conclusion Study results were consistent with past research indicating adolescent IE is negatively associated with ED behaviors, cognitions, and impairment. This study is the first to provide evidence that parent IE is positively associated with adolescent weight gain in FBT, and is the first to provide evidence that parent IE is negatively related to adolescent ED symptoms. Future research should examine adolescent and parent IE throughout FBT to understand its role in treatment response.
