Disordered eating attitudes among Turkish high school boys

Objectives: Eating disorders among boys and girls are rare, but many adolescents demonstrate behavioral eating disturbances. Disordered eating attitudes (DEAs) are defined as problematic eating patterns that are not practiced at a high enough frequency or severity to merit the formal diagnosis of an eating disorder. Behaviors and attitudes such as restrained eating, fear of being fat, distorted body image, binge eating, and purging are common among adolescents of both sexes. Moreover, much of the available research on eating disturbances and body image in adolescents has focused on girls. This trend is found worldwide, because girls are more prone to DEAs than boys. We assumed that owing to rapid socio-cultural changes in Turkey, the prevalence of DEAs among adolescents has been relatively high among both males and females. Therefore the purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of DEAs among boy students in a rural area (Afyon City) of Turkey, and to compare the groups based on the socio-demographic data.

Methods: The study group consisted of boy students of two high schools in Afyon city center who volunteered to participate in the study. All participants attended public schools. Data was collected by a socio-demographic information form and Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26). A probability level of p<0.05 was referred to indicate statistical significance.

Results: The study sample consisted of (n=203), (100% were boys) with a mean age of 16.22±1.09 (14-20). In this survey, according to EAT-26 the prevalence of DEAs was 18.7% (n=38). Of those cases, 19.7% (n=40) were underweight, 67.0% (n=136) were normal weight, and 13.3% (n=27) were overweight. When DEAs and non- DEAs groups were compared with respect to age, Body Mass Index, mother’s education level, father’s education level, smoking habits, alcohol use and school achievement no significant differences were found between groups (p>0.05). Monthly income level was found to be significantly higher in DEAs group than non-DEAs group (χ2= 4.314, p=0.038).

Conclusions: According to the EAT-26, the prevalence of DEAs among Turkish high school boy students was 18.7% (n=38). In a study of Australian college males, 21% reported the presence of disordered eating behaviors. In the present study the risk for DEAs was significantly higher in boys of higher socioeconomic status (SES) than in those of middle or low SES. Indeed, several studies have reported DEAs were more prevalent in upper SES adolescents than in lower-SES adolescents. Likewise, we found a significant association between SES and DEAs in the study sample. The main finding of the present study is that DEAs are prevalent during adolescence among young boys. The sample for the current study comprised a group of students in just one city in Turkey, which may limit the generalization of results. Thus, a study with a large sample containing mixed gender and different age groups in the country needs to be conducted.