Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

Background and Objective: Eating disorders are common mental / physical health disorders which cause psychosomatic and psychological dysfunction and also the poor quality of life and even death. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of eating disorders among adolescents  of Gonabad city. 

Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The samples were attained from the first- and second- grade students of 20 high schools of Gonabad city in 2014. They were selected by stratified randomization and Participated in this study. Data were obtained using eating attitudes questionnaire (26- EAT). Chi-square test was used for data analysis.

Results: The participants were in the 13-18 age range with an average of 15.50±1.70. In this study, 15.7% of students were at risk for eating disorders. Mental anorexia disorder and bulimia were, 1.1% and 3.2%, respectively.

There was a significant difference in eating disorder between girls and boys (p= 0.001). The prevalence of this disorder also had a significant association with age and educational level (p= 0.001). The prevalence of mental anorexia disorder was similar between the opposite sex (p= 0.079) and various educational levels (p=0.115). The results showed that the prevalence of eating disorders among girls is higher. There was a significant association in prevalence of this disorder among these opposite sexes (p=0.014), with different ages and grads (p=0.003).

Conclusion: The results showed that the eating disorders are more common in girls which may be due to the expansion of the West culture, poor nutritional patterns, racial and social factors. It is recommended to investigate the mentioned factors in a similar study.

Key words: Student, Eating disorders, Mental anorexia , Bulimia

Funding: This research was funded by Semnan University.

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Semnan University approved the study.

How to cite this article: Safarzade S, Mahmoody khorandi Z. Survey on Eating Disorders (Mental Anorexia , Bulimia) among 13-18-Year-Old Adolescents of Gonabad City in 2014. J RafsanjanUniv Med Sci 2015 14(5): 393-404. [Farsi]