Disordered eating behaviors, body dissatisfaction and their determinants in Indian adolescents: A cross-sectional...

Although the prevalence of disordered eating is maximum in high-income countries, the most significant rise occurred in East Asia and South Asia over the last three decades. Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) are more common than full-blown eating disorders. The cognitive distortion leading to these manifestations mainly occurs during adolescence and early adulthood. In this study, we assess the burden of DEBs in a cohort of Indian adolescents and determine their correlation with body dissatisfaction, calorie intake, and clinicosocial determinants.

The study was conducted from November 2016 to November 2020 and enrolled 180 adolescents of 10-18 years attending the outpatient department of a tertiary-care hospital. Subjects were screened for DEBs, using a 15-item Screening Questionnaire for Eating Distress Syndromes, and for body dissatisfaction, using Photographic-Figure-Rating-Scale. Clinicosocial interviews, dietary and anthropometric evaluation, and psychiatric screening using a Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-KIDS screen) were conducted.

DEB was present in 17.2% of adolescents, while 81.1% had body dissatisfaction and 32.2% had some psychiatric symptoms. The prevalence of DEBs in females was much higher than in males (OR = 7.89, 95%CI: 2.25-27.75, P = 0.001). More males (84.1%) reported body dissatisfaction than females (76.7%) [χ² =9.2, P = 0.010]. However, while females wished to lose weight, males desired weight gain, as measured by body dissatisfaction score (t = 2.9, P = 0.004). Apart from sex, other factors found significant in predicting DEBs in multivariate analysis were education, body dissatisfaction, BMI, and the number of siblings.

We conclude that, unlike overt eating disorders, DEBs are common in Indian adolescents. The development of DEBs is influenced by gender, education, body dissatisfaction, BMI, and the number of siblings.