A Transcultural Study of Eating Attitudes and Behaviors among Adolescents

Paik, Young Suk; Ahn, Dong Hyun; Cho, Yun Gyoo; Nam, Jung Hyun; Choi, Bo Yeul; Kang, Yoon Joo; Koh, Bok Ja

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this research was to attempt to examine ethnic and cultural differences in factors associated with disordered eating attitudes and behaviors.
METHODS
Data were collected from the four groups of 3,129 high school students aged between 13 and 16 years who completed school-based survey conducted in 1996. The students(663 Korean urban, 821 Korean rural, 830 Korean-Chinese and 815 Chinese adolescents) completed an instrument which assessed weight, height, Body Mass Index(BMI), parental income, father's level of education, weight control questionnaire, Body Image Scale(BIS), and eating attitudes and behaviors using the Eating Attitude Test-26(EAT-26).
RESULTS
BMI did not vary significantly by race, sex, and socioeconomic status. There were many severely underweight and severely overweight students among Korean-Chinese and Chinese than among Korean urban and Korean rural students. The EAT-26 mean scores of Korean-Chinese and Chinese subjects were significantly higher than those of Korean urban and Korean rural subjects. The EAT-26 mean score of Korean-Chinese was the highest among the four racial groups. The prevalence of high risk EAT-26(EAT-26> or =20) students of Korean-Chinese was 6.9% which was the highest among the four groups. The BIS mean scores of Korean rural and Korean urban subjects were significantly higher than those of Korean-Chinese and Chinese subjects. The Korean subjects were more dissatisfied with their body than the Chinese. The prevalences of weight control behaviors were 26.7% in Korean urban, 23.2% in Korean rural, 10.6% in Korean-Chinese, and 4.6% in Chinese subjects. Dieting and exercise were most popular for weight reducing in Korean subjects. Dieting and drug use were most popular in Chinese subjects.
CONCLUSION
These data suggest that there must be many eating disorder patients in Korea and China, and the eating attitudes and behaviors are influenced by ethnic and cultural factors. Implications for understanding sociocultural influence on eating attitudes and behaviors and acculturation are discussed.