The EMPOWER Lab is passionate about understanding disordered eating in youth from marginalized backgrounds. The word “marginalized” has become a bit of a buzzword in some circles, but what we mean by it is that we are interested in youth who are a part of groups that have been historically pushed to the edge of society and not been allowed a full place within it. Our work mostly focuses on youth who are marginalized because of their racial or ethnic backgrounds or because they come from low-income backgrounds.

One of the main types of disordered eating that we focus on in the EMPOWER Lab is loss of control eating. Loss of control eating is the feeling of not being able to control what, or how much, you are eating. Some people describe it like a ball rolling down a hill, where, once it gains momentum, it feels nearly impossible to stop. Others say that loss of control eating is like a car without brakes. Loss of control eating is a central part of binge eating disorder. The difference between binge eating and loss of control eating is that someone does not have to eat a large amount of food to experience loss of control. They may have only a small portion and still experience feeling out of control. On the other hand, although that loss of control feeling is also present in binge eating, eating an “unusually” large amount of food is required for a clinical binge eating episode.

Dr. Egbert recently received an NIH Career Development Award (K-Award) to examine whether there are links between loss of control eating and experiences of racism in Black teens. We will be recruiting Black teens ages 14-17 who experience dysregulated eating (this includes emotional eating, overeating, sneaking food, loss of control eating, and most other forms of eating that feel out of control). We’re interested in understanding what dysregulated eating feels like for Black teens, what language they use to describe it, and when and why they think it happens. We will also be tracking associations between racist encounters and loss of control eating.