title: Prevalence of abnormal eating behaviors in adolescents in Mexico: Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the prevalence of abnormal eating behaviors in a population-based nationwide survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  A stratified, probabilistic, multistage design sampling process was used. The Brief Questionnaire for Risky Eating Behaviors was included in the Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey 2006 (ENSANUT 2006) and administered to participants 10-19 years old (n= 25 166). The study had the power to describe nationwide characteristics by age, regions and urban/rural settings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high risk for having an eating disorder was found in 0.8% of the total participants (0.4% male adolescents and 1.0% female). Inhabitants in large cities showed higher risk for having an abnormal eating behavior compared to subjects living in other settings. The highest prevalences were found in males > 15 years old and females > 13 years old for all evaluated behaviors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results show less prevalence of risky eating behaviors among adolescents in comparison to other populations. The female/male ratio was 3:1, far different from the 9:1 shown in a previous study in Mexico City, but similar to results from the US national eating disorders screening.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, México, DF, México. barriguete@quetzal.innsz.mx
authors.forename: Jorge Armando
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Barriguete-Meléndez
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Unikel-Santoncini
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Salinas
authors.forename: José Angel
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Córdoba-Villalobos
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shamah
authors.forename: Simón
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barquera
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hernández-Avila
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult