[Eating before of an unselected student population of the 7th to 10th grade in a Berlin school].
In 1990 a study of 32 girls and 44 boys in Grades 7 to 10 in a former "East Berlin" school in the borough of Prenzlauer Berg was carried out in continuation of an "East-West Berlin Study on Eating Disorders in Adolescents" which we had initiated in the mid-eighties. The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), State of Comfort Scale (SCS) were used in a one-step study design together with complementary clinical and sociodemographic data, including body weight, height and BMI. On the whole, all students were well aware of their own body measurements and had definite ideas about their ideal body weight. Boys were less sure about their real weight, while girls showed some insecurity in defining their ideal weight. Regardless of weight parameters, girls were more strongly preoccupied with issues specific to eating disorders, such as dissatisfaction with their own body, the quest for a slim figure and diet. They were more severely affected by perceptions of insufficiency. 44% of all girls and 4% of the boys said they had problems with their body weight. These students' intensive preoccupation with issues specific to eating disorders was dependent on their actual body weight. They exhibited more clearly pronounced psychological characteristics of eating disorders. Eating-related and psychological characteristics of eating disorders were significantly more pronounced in girls with irregular menstruation. The correlation between irregular menstruation and individually perceived weight problems was significant. These results are discussed in greater detail with due consideration of the need for understanding the specific dynamics of eating attitudes in the general population.
Hein
J
J
Universitätsklinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie des Kindes- und Jugendalters. Universitätsklinkum Charité, Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Neumärker
K J
KJ
Neumärker
U
U
D000293:Adolescent; D001604:Berlin / Q000453:epidemiology; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014505:Urban Population