10.5681/HPP.2011.003
Pourghassem Gargari, Bahram
Bahram
Pourghassem Gargari
Kooshavar, Deniz
Deniz
Kooshavar
Seyed Sajadi, Neda
Neda
Seyed Sajadi
Karami, Safoura
Safoura
Karami
Hamed Behzad, Mahdiyeh
Mahdiyeh
Hamed Behzad
Shahrokhi, Hassan
Hassan
Shahrokhi
Disordered Eating Attitudes and Their Correlates among Iranian High School Girls
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences
2011
JournalArticle
610 Medical sciences; Medicine
2011-07-01
2011
en
text/html
Health Promotion Perspectives; ISSN: 2228-6497
Background: Disordered eating attitudes are contributing factors to the development of eat-ing disorders. Adolescent girls are at high risk for eating diseases. In Iran, there is few data on the subject, especially in Azarian adolescent girls, so we did this study for assessing disor-dered eating attitudes and their correlates among Iranian Azarbaijani high school girls.
Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 1887 high school girls were selected. Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26) and socio economical questionnaires were used. The EAT-26 score of 20 or higher defined as disordered eating attitudes. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Pro-gram for Social Sciences, by using from descriptive and analytical statistics.
Results: Reliability and validity of the translated EAT-26 were 0.80, 0.76, respectively. In studied subjects, mean (SD) of EAT-26 was 11.71(8.48). Totally, 16.7% (C.I with 95%: 15.1-18.3%) of students had disordered eating attitudes. About half of the participants were un-happy with their body weight and considered themselves as obese. Mean of EAT-26 was higher in this group. Groups, who intent to weight loss, were smoker, and who had age of menarche less than 11 years, also had higher EAT-26 scores. ParentÂ’s literacy or job, birth order, family size or income and house ownership had not any significant effect on EAT-26 score.
Conclusions: Persian version of EAT-26 has good reliability and validity for assessing disor-dered eating attitudes in Azarian girl adolescents. Prevalence of disordered eating attitudes among Azarian adolescent girls are in the range of some studies, but are less than Arabian countries, and some European ones. In adolescent girls, body weight dissatisfaction, smoking and early menarche has important role in eating attitudes.
Health Promotion Perspectives; ISSN: 2228-6497