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Tracking Glucose Trends, Unveiling Clinical Patterns: Insights From Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Patients at the Extreme of BMI and Eating Disorders Psychopathology

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European Eating Disorders Review

Published online on

Abstract

["European Eating Disorders Review, Volume 34, Issue 3, Page 627-636, May 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\n\nObjective\nDisturbances of glucose homoeostasis are claimed to act as both a consequence and maintaining factor in eating disorders (EDs). This study explored glucose trends and their association with real‐time food intake and self‐report eating psychopathology in a sample of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and binge‐eating disorder (BED).\n\n\nMethod\n30 patients (AN, 15; BED, 15) wore continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors while synchronously collecting data on daily food intake. CGM outputs were extracted and correlated with nutritional intake, daily meals composition and self‐report eating psychopathology (BES, NEQ, GQ, Y‐FAS).\n\n\nResults\nUp to 74% of participants experienced hypoglycaemia in the study period, with unique trends by diagnosis (prolonged, interprandial, nocturnal episodes in AN; brief, postprandial, daytime episodes in BED). Significant association between the average number of daily meals, glucose coefficient of variation, and symptomatic events was evident in AN. Self‐report night eating and food addiction symptoms in AN, and self‐report grazing in BED, associated, respectively, with daytime and symptomatic hypoglycaemia.\n\n\nConclusions\nHypoglycaemia is a frequent finding in patients with AN and BED and is associated with daily meals composition and dysfunctional eating behaviours. Theoretical explanations are provided for a diagnosis‐specific effect on hypoglycemia events. CGM could valuably contribute to understanding, clinical staging, and customised treatments of EDs.\n\n"]