Disordered eating attitudes: an emerging health problem among Mediterranean adolescents

Eat Weight Disord. 2004 Jun;9(2):126-33. doi: 10.1007/BF03325056.

Abstract

Aim of the present study was to investigate eating attitudes in a group of Mediterranean high school students. One hundred and twenty high school students participated in this survey. The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) was used for evaluating symptoms and attitudes associated with disordered eating. Body composition and dietary intake were also assessed. Using the cut-off point of 20 in the total EAT, 13 females (20.3%) and 4 males (7.3%) exhibited disordered eating behavior. Overweight students had significantly higher scores in the dieting scale than those in the normal BMI range. Percent fat mass was positively related to the total EAT (r=0.326, p<0.001) and the dieting scale (r=0.489, p<0.001). Waist/hip ratio was negatively related to total EAT and its scales. In conclusion, a significant percentage of students in this urban Mediterranean adolescent population found to have abnormal eating attitudes. This finding may be partly explained by the effect of cultural transition.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Anthropometry
  • Attitude to Health*
  • Body Composition
  • Body Mass Index
  • Energy Intake
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders / diagnosis
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders / epidemiology
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders / ethnology*
  • Female
  • Greece
  • Health Behavior
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Male
  • Prevalence
  • Surveys and Questionnaires