The problem of eating disorders (ED) in children and adolescents is becoming increasingly important because of the age-related peculiarities of their attitude to themselves and their bodies.
OBJECTIVE
To study the features of eating behavior in adolescents, living in Ryazan, depending on sex, nutritional status and attitude to their body image.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A cross-sectional study, involving 213 adolescents aged from 12 to 17, has been conducted. All participants examined, including the determination of anthropometric measures with the calculation of body mass index and questioning with the use of body image assessing questionnaire and Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ). As a result, two groups were formed: the 1st group (n=88) consisted of children from 12 to 14 years and the 2nd group (n=125) — from 15 to 17 years.
RESULTS
ED disorders occurred in 84.5% of examined participants (n=180), 53.3% of which had combined disorders. Young adolescents were more likely to experience overeating connected disorders, than the older ones (p=0.017). Boys were more likely to develop externality (p<0.001) and girls were more likely to show stress-induced ED (p=0.002). The tendency of different types of overeating was more common in adolescents with overweight and obesity (p=0.008 and p=0.029, respectively). The incidence of EB abnormalities was statistically significantly higher (p<0.05) in adolescents dissatisfied with their body image.
CONCLUSION
There is a high prevalence of combined eating disorders among adolescents living in Ryazan. Therefore, further research is needed to identify the predictors of overeating in adolescence.
