Researchers suggest that inadequate eating behavior (IEB) in young people can be influenced by several factors. However, the results have been controversial. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of body dissatisfaction (BD), the degree of psychological commitment to exercise (DPCE), the usual level of physical activity (LPA), the body mass index (BMI), the fat percentage and ethnicity on CAI in adolescents. The participants included 362 young men and women between 10 and 19 years of age. The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) was used to assess IEB. In addition, the Body Shape Questionnaire, the Commitment to Exercise Scale and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire were used to assess BD DPCE and LPA, respectively. Multivariate analysis and multiple regression was conducted to analyze the data. The results showed that BD, DPCE, BMI and body fat percentage significantly influenced (p<0.05) scores of the subscales of the EAT-26, both in females and males. However, the effects of variances were different between the sexes. The conclusion was that BD and BMI were the main factors that promoted significant effects in the different constructs of eating behavior assessed by the EAT-26 in both sexes.
Eating behavior; Adolescents; Body image; Physical activity
