[A study of eating attitudes in Nutrition and Dietetics senior students]

The aim of the study was to investigate eating attitudes and related factors in a sample of senior female students of Harokopeion University, Nutrition and Dietetics Department (ND). The group of ND students was compared to a relative sample of female senior students of Technological Institute of Athens, Health Visitor's School (HV). Sixty five ND and 60 HV female senior students were approached af ter lectures. From the 55 ND and the 46 HV students that were eligible to be included in the study, 44 ND and 37 HV students agreed to participate. Ten ND and 14 HV students were excluded because they were either older than 25 years or suffering from a chronic physical or mental disorder. Eleven ND and 9 HV students refused to participate mainly because the did not wanted to be weighted by the researchers. Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and two questionnaires for demographic, clinical and nutritional data were administered to all participants. Also each student was asked to pinpoint on a set of 12 male and female figures the figure that was more likely to represent their own body as well as their ideal female and male body. The ND group scored lower in the mean EAT-26 total score (p=0.03) and oral control subscale (p=0.01) than the HV group. EAT-26 score in the ND group correlated positively with self figure (Kendall's tau-b=0.2, p=0.04) and body dissatisfaction (Kendall's tau-b=0.3, p=0.01). The difference between the ideal female figure and the self figure was used as an indication of body dissatisfaction. Logistic regression analysis showed that avoidance of dinner (OR= 0.7, sig=0.03), choosing leaner ideal women figure (OR= 2.1, sig=0.03) and larger self image (OR=0.5, sig=0.001) were the three factors that could predict high EAT-26 total scores (EAT-26 ≥20) in the group of senior female students from both university departments. In conclusion, Nutrition and Dietetics senior female students showed less disordered eating attitudes than senior female Health Visitor's students. Furthermore, the estimation of the ideal female body figure as compared to the perception of the participant's own body figure was significantly related to disordered eating attitudes in the total sample of female university students.