Changes in eating attitudes, eating disorders and body weight in Chinese medical university students

Eating disorders is a particular problem for university students. However, little is known about this problem among medical students who often have high stress.

The aims of this study were to describe the changes in eating attitudes and eating disorders from 2006 to 2008 in a medical student sample, and to compare the gender differences of eating attitudes and body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) with this sample.

This study was conducted in Changsha city, Mainland China. Self-reported questionnaires, including the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and Eating Disorders Assessment Questionnaire (CETCA), were employed to examine the changes in eating attitudes and eating disorders from 2006 to 2008 in a medical student sample (N = 500).

Self-reported findings suggest that tentative eating disorders prevalence was 0.90% (anorexia nervosa (AN): 0; bulimia nervosa (BN): 4 females) in 2006 and 1.44% (AN: 1 male; BN: 1 male and 3 females) in 2008 of the full sample. The present data showed that 2.26% (2 males and 9 females) in 2006 and 2.47% (4 males and 6 females) in 2008 of all students obtained scores greater than 20 on the EAT-26 indicative of distorted eating attitudes and behaviour. Male students kept lower distorted eating attitudes and behaviours than female students, while female students kept a lower BMI than male students in both 2006 and 2008. However, there were no statistically significant changes in eating attitudes, distorted eating attitudes and CETCA in either male or female students from 2006 to 2008.

The results of this study suggest that there were no statistically significant changes from 2006 to 2008 in eating attitudes, distorted eating attitudes and CETCA. However, females showed significantly higher eating disorders and distorted eating attitudes compared to males in both 2006 and 2008. This study is furthering our understanding of eating disorders in a Chinese cultural context.