Abstract

ANGEL, Luis Alberto; MARTINEZ, Luz Marina  and  GOMEZ, María Teresa. Eating disorders prevalence in high school students. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2008, vol.56, n.3, pp.193-210. ISSN 0120-0011.

Background. The manual for statistics of diagnoses in psychiatry of the American Association of Psychiatry, recognizes various types of mental disorders related to eating exist and that share among them an intense worry by the weight, the food and the alterations of the corporal figure. The diagnostic category is called inconveniences of the appetite, but is more I need to call them as inconveniences of the eating behavior and they are subdivided in anorexia nervous, nervous bulimia and the inconveniences done not specify. Objective. To establish the eating disorders prevalence in scholar students of Bogotá and Sogamoso and their association with depression, anxiety, body image disorder and the socioeconomic status, and utility of the alimentary behavior questionnaire. Materials and methods. Questionnaires for alimentary behavior, depression, anxiety and body image tests were applied to the students of secondary at seven schools who accepted to participate. Those with score greater that 22 in alimentary behavior questionnaire and to an equivalent and random number with score smaller that 23 who accepted were interviewed for eating disorders diagnosis and the tests were applied again. Result. The 2770 students were at first evaluated and 708 were interviewed and responded the test again. The eating disorders prevalences were: anorexia nervosa 0,28 percent, bulimia nervosa 3,25 percent and non specified eating disorders 33,6 percent. The students with eating disorders had greater scores of anxiety greater desire to lower their weight. There were no differences by socioeconomic layer or depression score. Conclusions. The prevalences of eating disorders in students agreed with literature without differences by socio-economical status but with greater anxiety. Alimentary behavior questionnaires are useful for eating disorders screening in scholars.

Keywords : prevalence; students; anorexia; bulimia; eating disorders; mass screening.

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