Eating Attitudes Test and culture: a study in northern and southern Italy

The EAT (Eating Attitudes Test) has been widely used to compare eating morbidity in cultural groups and variations in it have been taken as indicative of cultural differences. This study assumed the existence of cultural differences between the north and the south of Italy. The EAT scores of female students from a northern and a southern Italian high school were compared. They were both higher than in other European studies, though there were no significant differences between the two groups. The result could be due to sampling limitations, but could also indicate that the EAT is not a reliable yardstick of cultural differences.