EPIDEMIOLOGY OF EATING BEHAVIOR AND WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION IN 14-YEAR-OLD TO 19-YEAR-OLD SWISS STUDENTS

A sample consisting of 1944 Swiss students of both sexes was investiga ted with regard to distribution over weight categories based on BMI ag e percentiles and eating behaviour (EAT-26) in relation to age, sex an d socio-economic status (SES). In addition, the relationship between B MI and Eating Attitudes Test scores was analysed. More subjects than e xpected were found to be in the obese weight categories. No clear effe ct of age and sex on the distribution of the sample across the five BM I classes was observed. There was an inverse relationship between BMI and socio-economic status. On the EAT scale girls scored twice as high as boys. Age had no effect on the EAT scores in females, although it did in males. Socio-economic status and EAT scores were inversely asso ciated. Three risk categories based on the EAT scores were described: EAT 0-9 = no risk (77.5% girls, 93.0% boys), EAT 10-19 = low risk (14. 1% girls, 5.5% boys), and EAT greater than or equal to 20 = high risk (8.3% girls, 1.5% boys). With regard to both aspects, weight and eatin g behaviour, female students shelved more disturbed eating behaviour a nd fewer instances of deviation from normal weight. In male subjects t here were more deviations from normal weight than instances of disturb ed eating behaviour.