Objective: Cross-sectional study to assess the characteristics of the risk behaviors for eating disorders (EDs) in school children between 10 and 14 years of age in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Methods: 1405 school-aged children were assessed, using the Eating Behaviours and Body Image Test (EBBIT) to screen for EDs. The normality of the continuing variables was tested using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test with Lilliefors correction. They were described as medians and interquartile intervals (25 and 75th percentiles).
Results: The criteria that represented a condition of anorexia and/or bulimia nervosa were considered as strong indicators of risk for EDs in school-aged children who indicated the following behaviors with scores superior to the 75th percentile on the scales: "compulsive eating" 3.0% (CI95% 2.2-4.0); "dissatisfaction with body image/restrictive eating" 1.3% (CI95% 0.8-2.0); children scoring superior to the 30th percentile, "compulsive eating" + "dissatisfaction with body image/restrictive eating", 0.6% (CI95% 0.3-1.2); and superior to the 50th percentile; "compensatory behavior for hyperphagia" 6.7% (CI95% 5.4-8.1). In addition, greater vulnerability of the female gender was perceived, as well as an increase in the preliminary risk factors of EDs, such as advanced age, dissatisfaction with the body image linked to restrictive behaviors and the compulsive establishment of an eating pattern.
Conclusion: This study shows the dimension of the problem in this ecological context and the urgent need for intervention programs, developed among different sectors, from the perspective of the adolescents' empowerment to prevent and minimize the vulnerability factors of the eating disorders.
Keywords: adolescents; anorexia nervosa; bulimia nervosa; child; eating behaviors; eating disorders; health promotion.