Variables associated with disordered eating behaviors among freshman students from Mexico City

• Main Authors: Concepción Díaz de León-Vázquez, José Alberto Rivera-Márquez, Letza Bojorquez-Chapela, Claudia Unikel-Santoncini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública 2017-05-01
• Series: Salud Pública de México
• Subjects: eating behavior; risk; students; universities; Mexico
• Online Access: http://www.saludpublica.mx/index.php/spm/article/view/8000

Objective. To estimate the prevalence of disordered eating behaviors (DEB) and identify their associations with demographic and psychological variables among freshman students at a public university in Mexico City. Materials and methods. A sample of 892 subjects participated in the study. Bivariate and multinomial models were performed to determine associations between DEB and covariates. Results. Of those surveyed, 6.8% of the women and 4.1% of the men exhibited DEB (p<0.05). The variables increasing the risk of eating disorders (ED) for women were internal­ization of the aesthetic thin ideal (IATI), body mass index (BMI), self-esteem and physical activity, while for men they were IATI, drive for muscularity, and self-esteem. Conclu­sions. The frequency of DEB among women and men and the internalization of the thin ideal in both sexes suggest the possibility of a change in the precursor conditions for eating disorders, particularly for men, who exhibit increased risk of such behaviors.