"One fascinating and modifiable environmental factor that has emerged as a possible buffer against the development of eating disorders in adolescent girls is family meals. Likewise, breakfast eating may also play a role in preventing the development of eating problems. For example, Fernández-Aranda and colleagues found that women with eating disorders were less likely to have eaten breakfast regularly during childhood compared to non-eating disordered controls. Although retrospective, these findings are consistent with those of a large (n = 2216), longitudinal study which found that breakfast eating frequency was inversely associated with dieting and weight-control behaviors, and positively related to dietary quality and physical activity in adolescents. Overall, these studies offer preliminary insight into potential buffers against eating disorders; however, research in this area has not yet progressed to assess the differential effect of these protective factors in individuals at high-risk for eating disorders versus the general population."