Relation of Body Weight Control and Eating Disorder of University Students in the Gunsan Area

Oh, Mi Yeon; Yu, Hyeon Hee

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the body weight controls and eating disorders of university students in Gunsan. The subject of the present study included 229 male students (53.8%) and 197 female students (46.2%), totalling 426 students from Kunsan University. The subjects consisted of 56 underweight (13.1%), 265 with normal weight (62.2%), and 105 overweight (24.6%). Especially, in females, 20.8% of them were underweight, which is 6.6% higher than males, showing a significant difference (p < 0.001). Regarding body image, 21.8% of the males thought they were fat, while 40.6% of the females thought they were fat. Regarding the perceived body type, shown in the difference between their own size and the ideal size, males recorded 0.03, while females recorded 1.75, showing a major significant difference (p < 0.001). Regarding body satisfaction, 33.2% of the males were unsatisfied, while 52.8% of the females were unsatisfied (p < 0.001). The social expectations of the male subjects' sizes and weights recorded 2.04, while that of females recorded .2.51, showing that people's opinions expected the female subjects' bodies to be thinner (p < 0.001). Additionally, the social expectation of the subjects' weight control recorded an average of 15.22 (13.92 for males, 16.73 for females), showing that the female subjects' felt that people's opinions wished them to lose their weight (p < 0.001). Regarding the recognition on weight control, interested males were 49.4%, while interested females were 86.8%, showing the females superior rate (p < 0.001). The beliefs in relation to weight control recorded an average of 62.01, with the score of females of 67.89 being significantly higher than that of males which was 56.96. The subjects showed a relatively positive response towards weight control (p < 0.001). EAT-26 score was employed to determine the eating attitudes in relation to gender. Here, the final score of males was 15.46, which was significantly lower than that of females, which was 22.21 (p < 0.001). Furthermore, regarding the score of eating attitudes in relation to obesity index, the eating disorder scale scores on the questions related to bulimia and diets to lose weight as weight increases were high. However, the eating disorder scale score on oral control, which actually controls food, was low. To control the expansion of excessive weight control attempts and their side effects, the recognition of the students' body types needs to be corrected, and nutrition education programs on eating habits and eating disorders to foster proper weight loss are deemed necessary.