Eating-Disordered Behavior in Adolescents: Associations with Body Image, Body Composition and Physical Activity

Abstract

Eating disorders (EDs) represent a disparate group of mental health problems that significantly impair physical health or psychosocial functioning. The aim of this study was to present some evidence about the prevalence of eating-disordered behavior (EDB) in adolescents, and explore its associations with body image (BI), body composition (BC) and physical activity (PA) in this age group. Data from 780 adolescents participating in a health behavior in school-aged children (HBSC) study conducted in Slovakia in 2018 were used (mean age 13.5 ± 1.3; 56% boys). Differences in mean values of numerical indicators were evaluated using the independent samples t-test. Differences between nominal variables were assessed by the chi-square test. Pearson correlation was used to describe the associations between all the selected variables. EDB was positively screened in 26.7% (208/780) of adolescents, with a higher prevalence in girls (128/344, 37.2%) than in boys (80/436, 18.3%). Significantly higher means of BI, body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), body fat mass (BFM), body fat percentage (BFP), body fat mass index (BFMI), fat free mass index (FFMI), and SCOFF questionnaire score (SCOFF QS) were found in those positively screened for EDB. Pearson correlation analysis revealed positive associations between EDB and BI, BW, BMI, BFM, BFP and BFMI. The prevalence of EDB is high in Slovak adolescents. Positive associations between EDB, BI, BMI and fat-related body composition parameters support the idea of a more integrated approach in EDs and obesity prevention and treatment. At the same time, gender differences suggest the need for considering gender-specific strategies aimed at girls and boys separately.

The prevalence and nutritional status of adolescent Saudi girls with disordered eating

“…Additionally, our study showed that EAT-26 scores increased significantly with BMI. Similar findings were reported previously in Jeddah (8) , Madrid (13) and Slovakia (24) . Being overweight pre-or during adolescence might lead adolescents to adopt disordered eating attitudes to lose excessive weight (32) .…”

“…Contrary to our study findings, the prevalence of EDs among adolescents aged 15–18 in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia, was higher (33 %) ( 8 ) . Additionally, higher prevalences were reported among Slovakian (age: 11–15 years; 37⋅2 %) ( 24 ) and Spanish (age: 13–18 years; 24⋅7 %) ( 13 ) counterparts. However, the prevalence of EDs in our study was higher than among Singaporean (7⋅4 %) ( 25 ) and Ethiopian (6 %) adolescents ( 26 ) .…”

Eating Disorders in Top Elite Beach Handball Players: Cross Sectional Study

“…However, in absolute values, there is a higher percentage in favor of elite female players. Studies have shown that females have more ED behaviors than males [ 43 , 44 , 45 ], often due to socio-cultural impositions and aesthetic patterns, making them a high risk group for the distortion of body self-image and ED [ 46 ]. This trend seems to be repeated in athletes [ 34 ]; furthermore, the results coincide with those of Fortes et al [ 35 ], finding no differences in the EAT-26 between men and women indoor handball players [ 35 ].…”

“…In females, as can be seen in the correlations, there was a positive association between EAT-26 total score and BMI, in addition to the one between subscale dieting and BMI. Moreover, some studies found that overweight girls are more likely to present restrictive eating behaviors, worry about their weight and be less satisfied with their appearance [ 44 , 45 ]. On the other hand, in males, the correlations between BMI and total EAT-26 score and BMI and oral control subscale were negative.…”

Malnutrición por exceso, alteraciones de salud mental y autoconcepto en población infanto-juvenil: revisión integrativa

“…Los criterios de exclusión fueron: Artículos no disponibles en texto completo de forma gratuita en la web o a través de la biblioteca de la Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello. Se identifi caron inicialmente 3.985 publicaciones y tras la aplicación de fi ltros (para PubMed se utilizó: idioma [español e inglés], año de publicación [2016-2021], rango etario [6 y 18 años]; para LILACS: idioma [español e inglés], año de publicación [últimos 5 años]; para EBS-CO: año de publicación [en los últimos 5 años]) se obtuvieron 1448 artículos para realizar la lectura de título y resumen (tabla 1), luego se procedió a eliminar artículos duplicados y que cumplían criterios de exclusión, quedando así 38 artículos preseleccionados para lectura de texto completo y evaluación de calidad, de los cuales sólo 9 cumplían todos los requisitos [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] .…”