Comportamento alimentar anormal e práticas inadequadas para controle de peso entre adolescentes do sexo feminino de Fortaleza

Abstract

Objectives: characterize eating habits and possible risk factors associated with Eating Disorders, amongst female adolescents in Fortaleza-CE, Brazil. Methodology: transversal study, with 652 women between 14 and 20 years of age, students of the second year of Middle-level education. The Bulimic Investigatory Test Edinburgh (BITE), the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) were used. Results: 73.6% of the subjects are out of risk for development of an Eating Disorder, 25.2% are at risk and in 1.2% a strong possibility of eating disorder in course was found. The proportion of adolescents who showed risky habits was greater in private schools (p<0.05). According to the EAT-26, 9% of the sample showed a score (>=21) which characterizes them as being at risk and practicing pathological eating habits. The BSQ indicated that 36.2% of the adolescents showed concern with their body image (BI); of these, 61% (n=236) were concerned to a degree considered mild, 26.3% showed a moderate concern and 12.7% showed serious concern with BI. Students at public and private schools demonstrated a similar desire to be thin, but adolescents from private schools more frequently used inappropriate practices in order to reach that wish. Conclusion: Adolescents who demonstrate eating disorders in their clinical form, are a rare phenomenon in public and private schools in Fortaleza, whilst the symptoms of eating disorder, either isolated or in small groups, occur with relevant frequency amongst the population studied.