Eating problems and related weight control behaviour in adult Japanese women

Fewer studies concerning eating problems have been conducted in adult than in adolescent female populations. The aims of this study are to ascertain the proportion of eating problems and clarify weight control behaviour in adult Japanese women.

This study employed a questionnaire survey with a cross-sectional design. Subjects were adult females aged 20-39 years, working in a computer factory. Four hundred and six women agreed to participate in the study. The questionnaire elicited self-reported age, body height, body weight and various histories of dieting, fasting and purging behaviour. The Eating Attitudes Test 26-item version (EAT-26) was also administered. Subjects showing an EAT-26 score equal to or greater than 20 were identified as having eating problems.

Among the subjects, 172 women (42.4%) had some history of dieting behaviour and 24 (5.9%) had some history of fasting behaviour. Regarding misuse of laxatives, diet pills and diuretics for the purpose of weight loss, 50 (14.3%) were past or current users of diet pills, followed by 42 (10.3%) laxative abusers and 15 (3.7%) diuretic abusers. Six (1.5%) subjects had an EAT-26 score of 20 or greater, 5 (1.9%) in their 20s, and 1 (0.8%) in her 30s, the difference not being statistically significant.

Although dieting behaviour is common in adult Japanese working women, the proportion of eating problems is low in comparison with Western adult populations.