Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association (대한영양사협회학술지)

The Korean Dietetic Association (대한영양사협회)
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Awareness of Body Shape, Weight Control, and Eating Disorders in Female Adolescents Living in Seoul

서울에 거주하는 청소년기 여학생들의 체형인식도, 체중조절 및 식이장애 실태

  • Kim, Yeon-Kyum (The Graduate School of Education, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Yoon, Ki-Sun (Dept. of Food and Nutrition, Research Institute of Human Ecology, Kyung Hee University)
  • 김연겸 (경희대학교 교육대학원 영양교육) ;
  • 윤기선 (경희대학교 식품영양학과, 생활과학연구소)
  • Received : 2009.03.05
  • Accepted : 2009.06.15
  • Published : 2009.08.02
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Abstract

This study investigated dieting behavior, awareness of body shapes, and eating disorders in female adolescents according to age and BMI. The Eating Attitude Test for Korean Adolescents (EAT-26KA) and sociocultural standards were used to measure eating disorders and sociocultural attitudes related to appearance, respectively. In addition, the BDI (Beck Depression Inventory) scale was used to measure the correlation between disordered eating and depression. The data were collected from 390 female adolescents living in Seoul and were analyzed using SPSS15.0. The results indicated that subjects wanted to be thinner despite having a normal body weight (BMI 19.35${\pm}$2.73). They also thought of themselves as fat and with desires to be slimmer, and viewed "diet and exercise" as the best way to lose weight. About 67.4% of the respondents had tried a diet and had experienced dizziness, anorexia, and general exhaustion while dieting. Also, 5.1% of the subjects were classified as eating disorder and suffered from stress to be thin. In addition, 85.0% of the subjects with eating disorder had tried a diet due to "appearance". They thought that "being underweight" was an ideal body image and considered themselves fat, although their BMIs were in the normal range (19.94${\pm}$2.02). In terms of symptoms during dieting, many of the subjects dealing with an eating disorder felt dizzy, had low energy, and were depressed. In conclusion, we must educate young females about healthy eating and positive body image to prevent the development of adolescent eating disorders.

Keywords

References

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