Risk behavior for eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction in university students from a college institution

Eating disorders (ED) are characterized by inadequacies in consumption and/or eating behavior and have been highlighted in recent years in populations other than obesity, such as university students. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate dissatisfaction with body image and risk eating attitudes for ED in university students from a college institution. Dissatisfaction with body image was assessed using the "Body Shape Questionnaire" (BSQ-8C) and attitudes towards ED risk were assessed using the "Eating Attitudes Test" (EAT-26) questionnaire. A total of 407 university students were included (82.6% were women). Mean age was 24.3 +/- 6.4 years, with no differences between men and women (p=0.944). In the sample, 40.3% were classified as overweight (BMI > 25 kg/m(2)). In terms of food, 25.6% said they had an unhealthy diet. In the BSQ-8C, 159 university students (39.1%) showed severe body image dissatisfaction, especially women when compared to men (44.6% and 12.7%, respectively, p<0.001). In the EAT-26, 35.6% of university students showed risky eating behavior for ED. In the correlation analysis, risk behavior for eating disorders, characterized by the highest score on the EAT-26, was positively correlated with weight (r=0.156, p=0.002) and BMI (r=0.255, p<0001). In addition, there was a positive correlation between the severity of body image dissatisfaction and risk attitudes for ED. Thus, the present research demonstrated a high prevalence of dissatisfaction with body image and risk attitudes for ED in university students, especially among women.