Abstract

ALBERTON, Vivian Comelli; DAL-BO, Márcio José; PIOVEZAN, Anna Paula  and  SILVA, Rosemeri Maurici da. Abnormal eating behaviors among medical students at a University in Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil. Rev. Bras. Educ. Med. [online]. 2013, vol.37, n.01, pp.15-20. ISSN 1981-5271.

Objectives: Disturbances in eating behavior significantly affect young adults. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of abnormal eating behaviors, according to the Eating Attitudes Test - 26 (EAT-26) in medical students at a university in southern Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Methods: Self-reported questionnaire, based on the EAT-26 scale, was administered to medical students. Additional questions about age, gender, study period of the course, weight and height were asked. A total of 391 medical students were assessed, amounting to 93.3 percent of the 419 students enrolled. Results: Ten percent of the surveyed subjects had positive EAT-26 scores. This outcome measure was positive associated with females (PR 6.5), body mass index (BMI) ≤ 25 kg/m2 (PR 4.5), age ≤ 20 years (PR 1.3) and being student from 1st to 5th semester of the course (PR 1.7). A higher proportion of women gave positive responses to behaviors related to control of food intake or weight loss than men. Conclusion: The significant prevalence of behaviors related to eating disorders, predominantly among women, suggests the implementation of preventive measures targeting this population.

Keywords : Eating Disorders; Eating Behavior; Medical Students.

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