Recent research suggests that
estrogen is protective against
binge eating in adult females, and that pubertal
estrogen may be critical for these effects. Nonetheless, to date, no study has examined the role of pubertal
estrogen in adult
binge eating phenotypes in females, potentially due to difficulties experimentally manipulating
estrogen in humans to examine causal effects. We used a novel animal model to examine whether
estrogen removal prior to puberty (via pre-pubertal
ovariectomy (P-OVX)) increases rates of
binge eating prone (BEP) phenotypes in adulthood in females. A total of 77 P-OVX and 79 intact rats were followed from pre-puberty into adulthood and phenotyped for BEP status in adulthood. Results showed significantly increased rates (~2-8x higher) of adult BEP phenotypes in P-OVX as compared to intact rats. Findings confirm that
estrogen removal substantially increases later risk for
binge eating in females, potentially by disrupting typical adolescent brain development.