Risk factors for eating disorders among undergraduate nursing students

Cross-sectional study with undergraduate nursing students from a public university, where a demographic questionnaire, the Eating Attitude Test (EAT), and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) were used. Descriptive analysis, Pearson's correlation and linear regression were used to analyze the data.

Results:

Among the 120 undergraduate students, 30 (25%) presented altered eating behavior, and 55 (45.8%) demonstrated dissatisfaction with body shape. A simple positive correlation was found between the EAT and BSQ instruments (p<0.001), in which 20 (66.7%) of the 55 undergraduate students with BSQ alterations also had EAT alterations; there was a significant association between risky eating attitude (EAT) and body mass index (BMI) above the state of eutrophy, and a significant association between preoccupation with body shape (BQS) and year in school, mainly in the third and fourth years. There was a significant difference between the instruments used and age, showing that the youngest students were at a higher risk for the development of eating disorders.

Conclusion:

Undergraduate nursing students presented risk factors for development of eating disorders with the presence of preoccupation with body shape and altered eating behaviors. The multifactorial etiology of eating disorders suggests that research should emphasize prevention, focusing on the development of a positive concept in young people about their self-image and developing critical thinking about image patterns, media and social impositions.

Keywords
Body image; Feeding behavior; Risk factors; Health promotion; Mental health

Characteristics		4^th year Class of 74	3^rd year Class of 75	2^nd year Class of 76	1^st year Class of 77	Total	Comp. Class p
Age							0.000
	Min – Max	20 – 48	19 – 29	18 – 30	18 – 40	18 – 48
	Mean (SD)	23.6 (5.4)	21.7 (2.3)	22.2 (3.6)	20.1 (4.1)	21.9 (4.2)
Sex							0.36
	Male n(%)	3 (10)	3 (10)	6 (20)	7 (23.3)	19 (15.8)
	Female n(%)	27 (90)	27 (90)	24 (80)	23 (76.3)	101 (84.2)
Weight							0.31
	Min – Max	42 – 91	36 – 90	42 – 101	41 – 101	36 – 101
	Mean (SD)	63.0 (13.4)	59.6 (11.6)	63.6 (15.8)	65.3 (15.0)	62.9 (14.0)
BMI							0.57
	Min – Max	17 – 38	17 – 29	16 – 38	18 – 32	16 – 38
	Mean (SD)	23.6 (4.9)	22.8 (3.4)	23.1 (5.4)	23.7 (4.0)	23.3 (4.5)

Age	BMI	EAT	BSQ	Age	BMI	EAT	BSQ
4^th year, class of 74				2^nd year, class of 76
21	23.82	27	Moderate	18	37.66 obesity II	29
34	23.42	20	Mild	24	32.71 obesity II	31
23	23.56	43	Severe	18	28.72 overweight	26	Severe
21	26.72 overweight	24	Moderate	19	15.97 low weight	28
22	19.36	39	Severe	26	23.2	27	Mild
24	38.03 obesity II	32	Severe	22	22.04	30
3^rd year, class of 75				1^st year, class of 77
19	25.63 overweight	29	Severe	19	30.61 obesity I	40	Mild
19	25.64 overweight	30	Mild	24	29.35 overweight	29	Mild
21	26.6 overweight	22	Mild	20	21.87	23
21	25.78 overweight	28	Mild	19	19.82	25
21	27.35 overweight	22	Moderate	22	24.74	26
23	20.55	24	Severe	18	26.44 overweight	22
22	16.89 low weight	45	Mild	20	25.93 overweight	22	Mild
21	25.77 overweight	35	Mild	18	19.88	21
21	27.68 overweight	40	Severe	18	31.53 obesity I	22

Escola Paulista de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de São Paulo R. Napoleão de Barros, 754, 04024-002 São Paulo - SP/Brasil, Tel./Fax: (55 11) 5576 4430 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: actapaulista@unifesp.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Corresponding author Maria Cristina Mazzaia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5259-577X E-mail: mazzaia@terra.com.br