Prevalence of abnormal eating behaviors in adolescents in Mexico: Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of abnormal eating behaviors in a population-based nationwide survey. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A stratified, probabilistic, multistage design sampling process was used. The Brief Questionnaire for Risky Eating Behaviors was included in the Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey 2006 (ENSANUT 2006) and administered to participants 10-19 years old (n= 25 166). The study had the power to describe nationwide characteristics by age, regions and urban/rural settings. RESULTS: A high risk for having an eating disorder was found in 0.8% of the total participants (0.4% male adolescents and 1.0% female). Inhabitants in large cities showed higher risk for having an abnormal eating behavior compared to subjects living in other settings. The highest prevalences were found in males > 15 years old and females > 13 years old for all evaluated behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Results show less prevalence of risky eating behaviors among adolescents in comparison to other populations. The female/male ratio was 3:1, far different from the 9:1 shown in a previous study in Mexico City, but similar to results from the US national eating disorders screening.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Barriguete-Meléndez,Jorge Armando, Unikel-Santoncini,Claudia, Aguilar-Salinas,Carlos, Córdoba-Villalobos,José Ángel, Shamah,Teresa, Barquera,Simón, Rivera,Juan A, Hernández-Ávila,Mauricio
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública 2009
Online Access:http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0036-36342009001000019
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