Symptoms of disordered eating, body shape, and mood concerns in male and female Chinese medical students.
OBJECTIVE
This cross-sectional study explored the prevalence of disordered eating attitudes, body shape concerns, and social anxiety and depressive symptoms in male and female medical students in China.


METHODS
Four hundred eighty-seven students from Central South University (Hunan Province, Changsha City, China) completed the following self-report measures: Eating Attitudes Test-26, Eating Disorders Assessment Questionnaire, Body Shape Questionnaire, Swansea Muscularity Attitudes Questionnaire, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and the Self-Rating Depression Scale.


RESULTS
A comparatively lower rate of at-risk eating attitudes (2.5%) and eating disorders (0.90%) were found compared to those reported in other studies. Significantly more female (3.2%) than male (1.2%) students had abnormal eating attitudes with 4 female students meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria for bulimia nervosa. Significant relationships were observed between eating attitudes, body shape concern, social anxiety, depression, and body mass index. For females, the most significant correlate of distorted eating attitudes was body shape concern, whereas for male students, social anxiety and concern with muscle size and shape were most strongly correlated with distorted eating attitudes.
Liao
Yanhui
Y
Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, China.
Knoesen
Natalie P
NP
Castle
David J
DJ
Tang
Jinsong
J
Deng
Yunlong
Y
Bookun
Riteesh
R
Chen
Xiaogang
X
Hao
Wei
W
Meng
Gang
G
Liu
Tieqiao
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000208:ethnology*; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*