Addressing nutritional issues and eating behaviours among university students: a narrative review.

University life is a critical period for establishing healthy eating habits and attitudes. However, university students are at risk of developing poor eating habits due to various factors, including economic conditions, academic stress and lack of information about nutritional concepts. Poor diet quality leads to malnutrition or overnutrition, increasing the risk of preventable diseases. Food environments on university campuses also play a significant role in shaping the dietary habits of students, with the availability of and accessibility to healthy food options being important factors influencing food choices and overall diet quality. Disordered eating habits and body dissatisfaction are prevalent among university students and can lead to eating disorders. Income and living arrangements also influence dietary habits, with low household income and living alone being associated with unhealthy eating habits. This study is a narrative review that aimed to address nutritional issues and eating behaviours, specifically among university students. We investigated the eating behaviours of university students, including their dietary patterns, food choices and food environments. The objective of this review was to provide insights into the nutritional issues and eating behaviours of university students, with the aim of identifying target areas for intervention to improve the overall health and wellbeing among college students. University food environments need to be restructured to promote healthy eating, including the availability, accessibility, affordability and labelling of healthy foods, and policies to limit the availability of unhealthy foods and drinks on campus.

Body weight and eating attitudes influence improvement of depressive symptoms in children and pre-adolescents with eating disorders: a prospective multicenter cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric patients with eating disorders in a multicenter joint study on 11 facilities were enrolled and prospectively investigated to determine whether improvement in body weight, eating attitudes, and psychosocial factors in children with eating disorders would also improve depressive symptoms. METHODS: In this study, 91 patients were enrolled between April 2014 and March 2016. The severity of underweight was assessed using the body mass index-standard deviation score (BMI-SDS), eating behavior was assessed using the children's eating attitude test (ChEAT26), the outcome of childhood eating disorders was assessed using the childhood eating disorder outcome scale, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) score. RESULTS: After 12 months of treatment, depressive symptoms were evaluated in 62 of the 91 cases where it was evaluated at the initial phase. There was no difference in background characteristics between the included patients and the 29 patients who dropped out. A paired-sample t-test revealed a significant decrease in CDI scores after 12 months of treatment (p < 0.001, 95% CI: 2.401-7.373) and a significant increase in the BMI-SDS (p < 0.001, 95% CI: - 2.41973-1.45321). Multiple regression analysis revealed that BMI-SDS and ChEAT26 scores at the initial phase were beneficial in CDI recovery. In addition, BMI-SDS at the initial phase was useful for predicting BMI-SDS recovery after 12 months of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms in children with eating disorders improved with therapeutic intervention on body weight and eating attitudes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Clinical Trial Number for this study is UMIN000055004.

Obsessive-Compulsive Symptomatology and Disgust Propensity in Disordered Eating Behaviors of Adolescents with Celiac Disease.

BACKGROUND: Considering the importance of underlying psychopathological mechanisms that mediate maladaptive eating behaviors in celiac disease (CD) in the determination of cognitive-behavioral therapeutic approaches, we investigated the impact of obsessive-compulsive symptomatology and disgust propensity on disordered eating attitudes (DEA) and poor gluten-free diet (GFD) compliance in adolescents with CD. METHOD: Adolescents with biopsy-proven CD (n = 148, aged 12-18 years) were compared with age- and sex-matched controls (n = 104) in terms of eating attitudes/behaviors, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and disgust propensity, as well as depression and anxiety to rule out depression- and anxiety-related covariates. The clinical implications associated with poor GFD compliance were determined using between-subgroup analysis. Multivariate linear regression and multiple logistic regression were used to identify predictors of DEA and GFD noncompliance, respectively. RESULTS: In adolescents with CD, DEA was remarkably associated with obsessive-compulsive symptom severity and disgust propensity, especially in contamination and core disgust sub-dimensions. Obsessionality and disgust propensity were independent predictors of DEA, of which the obsessive-compulsive symptom severity was the most decisive predictor of DEA. Higher DEA severity and lower body mass index were independent predictors of poor GFD compliance. CONCLUSION: Higher obsessionality, accompanied by disgust-related evaluative conditioning processes, may contribute to constructing a cognitive network consisting of hypervigilance and catastrophic interpretations towards benign somatic stimulations, food-related preoccupations, and avoidant behaviors in the disordered eating of adolescents with CD. The reciprocal relationship between lifelong GFD and DEA, mediated by obsessionality and disgust propensity, was supported by current findings that could guide clinicians in the management of maladaptive eating behaviors in adolescents with CD.

Relation between orthorexia nervosa and healthy orthorexia: A latent profile analysis.

Orthorexic eating behaviors can be conceptualized as a bidimensional construct encompassing an orthorexia nervosa dimension (ON) and a healthy orthorexia dimension (HO). Although variable-centered studies showed that ON and HO are distinguishable orthorexic eating behaviors, the evidence of whether they can co-occur or be distinct in subgroups of individuals is still limited. The present study aimed to address previous person-centered studies' limitations by examining profiles of ON and HO among a convenience sample of 251 French-speaking Canadian adults (85.7% women; Mage = 33.56). Profile membership was examined as function of participants characteristics such as age, gender, body mass index, frequency of physical activity and sports and vegetarianism. The relation between profile membership, intuitive eating and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors was also assessed. Latent profile analysis (LPA) were used to estimate profiles of ON and HO. Results from LPA did not provide support for the distinguishability of ON and HO. Indeed, they revealed the presence of two profiles showing co-occurring levels of ON and HO that only differed quantitatively: low (68.9% of the sample; low levels of ON and HO) or moderate orthorexic eating behaviors (31.1%; moderate levels of ON and HO). Participants who declared being vegetarian and being more frequently involved in physical activities and sports were more likely to belong to the moderate orthorexic eating behaviors' profile. Finally, participants from the moderate orthorexic eating behaviors' profile showed higher levels of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, whereas those from the low orthorexic eating behaviors' profile showed higher levels of intuitive eating. Findings from the present study question the distinguishability of ON and HO dimensions. They also suggest that, similarly to ON, HO is also related to higher eating and lifestyle preoccupations.

The indirect role of orthorexia nervosa and eating attitudes in the association between perfectionism and muscle dysmorphic disorder in Lebanese male University students - results of a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The literature highly concentrates on disorders related to body image among women but only minimally when it comes to the male population; hence, in order to provide general practitioners, and primary care physicians in general, and psychiatrists in particular, with additional information concerning muscle dysmorphia among male university students in Lebanon, this study seemed essential, and was therefore conducted to (1) identify the prevalence of MDD, and (2) evaluate the indirect effect of eating attitudes in general and orthorexia nervosa in particular, in the association between perfectionism and muscle dysmorphic disorder (MDD) among a sample of male university students. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study conducted between September 2021 and May 2022, 396 male university students from multiple universities in Lebanon filled the online Arabic questionnaire. RESULTS: The results showed that 26 (6.6%) of the participants had MDD. Orthorexia nervosa and eating attitudes mediated the association between perfectionism and MDD; higher perfectionism was significantly associated with higher ON and more inappropriate eating; higher ON and more inappropriate eating were significantly associated with higher MDD, whereas perfectionism had a significant total direct effect on MDD. The high prevalence of MDD among male university students in Lebanon implies further investigation on the national level in the country. CONCLUSION: Awareness campaigns among the university students could be adopted at the national level to increase the level of knowledge on the concepts of obsessive self-destructive perfectionism, orthorexia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia.

The Relationship Between Anxiety, Coping, and Disordered-Eating Attitudes in Adolescent Military-Dependents at High-Risk for Excess Weight Gain.

Adolescent military-dependents are an understudied population who face unique stressors due to their parents' careers. Research suggests that adolescent military-dependents report more anxiety and disordered-eating than their civilian counterparts. While anxiety symptoms predict the onset and worsening of disordered-eating attitudes, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. One factor that may underlie this relationship, and be particularly relevant for military-dependent youth, is coping. Therefore, we examined adolescent military-dependents (N=136; 14.5±1.5 years; 59.6% female; BMI-z: 1.9±0.4) who were at-risk for adult obesity and binge-eating disorder due to an age- and sex-adjusted BMI ≥ 85th percentile and loss-of-control eating and/or elevated anxiety. Participants completed an interview assessing disordered-eating attitudes and questionnaires on anxiety symptoms and coping strategies at a single time point. Bootstrapping models were conducted to examine the indirect paths between anxiety symptoms and disordered-eating attitudes through five coping subscales (aggression, distraction, endurance, self-distraction, and stress-recognition). Adjusting for relevant covariates, no significant indirect paths through the coping subscales (ps > .05) were found in any models. General coping, non-specific to eating, may not be a pathway between anxiety symptoms and disordered-eating attitudes among adolescents. Future research should examine other potential mediators of this relationship.

Are beliefs and attitudes about COVID-19 associated with self-perceived changes in food consumption? Results from a nationwide survey during lockdown.

This study aimed to understand how beliefs and attitudes regarding COVID-19 are associated with self-perceived changes in food consumption during lockdown between March 19 and May 2, 2020. We conducted a cross-sectional study with a non-probabilistic weighted sample of the Portuguese population. Data were collected using an online survey and telephone interviews. The association between agreement with sentences about food and COVID-19 and perceived changes in food consumption were assessed by multinomial logistic regression models. Overall, 5858 citizens were included, with a mean age of 38.2 (17.3) years. Exclusive agreement with the belief "SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted by food" (27.5%) was associated with decreased odds of perceived positive changes (e.g., increased consumption of fruit and vegetables). Agreement only with the attitudinal sentence "I started to consume foods that may protect against COVID-19" (11.9%) was associated with positive perceived consumption changes (e.g., increasing fruit and vegetables, and decreasing soft drinks and snacks). Cumulative agreement (with both sentences; 10.6%) was also associated with mostly positive food consumption changes. Specific beliefs and attitudes regarding COVID-19 and food are associated with self-perceived changes in food consumption. Longitudinal research is needed to understand how beliefs and/or attitudes about the role of food in infectious diseases act as determinants of eating behavior modification.

Eating attitudes, depressive symptoms, physical activity levels and menopausal symptoms of postmenopausal women diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a case-control study.

The purpose of this study is to compare the eatingt attitudes, depressive symptoms, physical activity levels, and menopausal symptoms of postmenopausal women who had been diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and women without. This study utilized a case-control design and included 137 postmenopausal women, 70 women in the case group and 67 women in the control group. The case group was composed of all postmenopausal women who were registered in the COVID-19 polyclinic of a public hospital in Turkey, who had positive PCR results, and who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 at least one month before. Each woman in the case group was matched by age (±1 year) with controls who visited the Family Health Center for any reason and who did not have suspected or confirmed COVID-19 disease. Data were collected using the Socio-demographic Form, the Eating Attitudes Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, and the Menopause Rating Scale between the 27th of January and the 5th of March 2021. Statistical analyses included percentage distributions, arithmetic means, standard deviation, t-test in independent groups, chi-square, Cronbach's alpha reliability analysis, binary logistic regression analysis, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results showed that women who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 had the risk of experiencing postmenopausal symptoms 1.36 times more than the women without (OR = 1.36 , %95 CI 1.084-1.48, p < .001). A statistically significant difference was found between women who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and women without (F = 7.372, p < .05) in the ANCOVA model established to see the effect of depressive symptoms, physical activity levels, and eating attitudes on menopausal symptoms by eliminating the effects of smoking, age and menopause hormone therapy (MHT) use, and it explained 4.2% of the variance (È 2 = .042). This study showed that postmenopausal women who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 experienced more menopausal symptoms. Health professionals are recommended to carefully evaluate the menopausal symptoms of postmenopausal women who had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) To Examine the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Farsi Version of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (F-ChEAT) among Iranian Preadolescents Across Gender and Age.

Despite considerable examination of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) in Western societies, there is no study about the ChEAT in Iran. The purpose of the current study was to translate and examine the factor structure and measurement invariance of the Farsi version of the ChEAT (F-ChEAT) among Iranian preadolescents. Iranian preadolescents (N = 717) completed the F-ChEAT and demographic information. Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) was used to examine the factor structure and measurement invariance across gender and age. A 5-factor, 15-item ESEM model showed an excellent fit of the data. Tests of measurement invariance suggested that scores on the latent means could be meaningfully compared across gender and age. Girls had higher latent means on the Food Preoccupation and Caloric Awareness and Control factors, and older preadolescents had higher latent means on all the F-ChEAT factors, except for the Dieting factor. Findings suggest that a 5-factor, 15-item ESEM model of the F-ChEAT was a useful assessment tool to understand disordered eating symptoms in Iranian preadolescents.

Drunkorexia behaviors and motives, eating attitudes and mental health in Lebanese alcohol drinkers: a path analysis model.

BACKGROUND: Drunkorexia refers to limited intake of high-calorie food to avert gaining weight and the need to increase in alcohol excessive consumption. The present study aimed to check for an association between depression, anxiety, and stress with drunkorexia behaviors/motives among Lebanese adults, while evaluating the mediating role of inappropriate eating attitude in those associations. METHODS: Two hundred and fifty-eight participants enrolled in this cross-sectional study, who filled an online survey (September-December 2020). RESULTS: Drunkorexia behaviors were considered as the dependent variable; the path coefficients from stress to anxiety, from anxiety to eating attitudes, from eating attitudes to drunkorexia behaviors and from anxiety to drunkorexia behaviors were all significant. The indirect relationships showed that eating attitudes mediated the association between anxiety and drunkorexia behaviors. When taking the drunkorexia motives as the dependent variable, the path coefficients from stress to anxiety, from anxiety to eating attitudes, from eating attitudes to drunkorexia motives, and from anxiety to drunkorexia motives were all significant. The indirect relationships showed that eating attitudes mediated the association between anxiety and drunkorexia motives. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted that individuals with more psychological problems (depression, anxiety, and stress) and inappropriate eating habits exhibit more drunkorexic motivations and behaviors. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, Cross-sectional study.

Relationships between inappropriate eating habits and problematic alcohol use, cigarette and waterpipe dependence among male adolescents in Lebanon.

BACKGROUND: it is important to investigate the relationship between disordered eating in male adolescents and smoking and alcohol consumption as they are risk factors to other diseases as well. For example, high levels of alcohol accompanied by the acidic damage and nutritional deficit exhibited in people with disordered eating habits - due to induced vomiting - has been shown to increase risk of esophageal cancer. Considering the very few studies done on disordered eating prevailing in males and the prevalence of smoking and drinking habits, our study aims to investigate the correlation between inappropriate eating habits and one's dependence on cigarettes, waterpipes, and alcohol all the while focusing on male adolescents. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional observational study that enrolled 389 male students (13-17 years of age) drawn from five Lebanese schools between October and December 2019. RESULTS: The MANCOVA analysis was performed taking the addiction scales as the dependent variables and the EAT-26 score as an independent variable, adjusting for the covariates (age, BMI and household crowding index). Higher EAT-26 scores (more inappropriate eating attitudes) were significantly associated with higher waterpipe dependence (B = 0.11; CI 0.06-0.17) and more problematic alcohol use (B = 0.08; CI 0.04-0.12), but not cigarette dependence. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed an association between inappropriate eating and increased drinking and smoking the waterpipe, but not cigarettes. The manifestation of inappropriate eating habits was found to be significant among male adolescents; in the literature, this is also true for female adolescents. In Lebanon, the engagement of adolescents in alcohol drinking and waterpipe smoking is frequent as they are accessible due to the lack of law enforcement and supervision in the country. In addition, while this study found an association between inappropriate eating habits and dependency on smoking and drinking, further investigation should be done on the role of one's psychology in their exhibition of disordered eating as means to prevent the manifestation of these habits.

"I'll eat meat because that's what we do": The role of national norms and national social identification on meat eating.

Through meat-eating choices, people are able to express their national social identification and adhere to broader cultural norms. The current research examines the relationship between people's perceptions of national descriptive and injunctive meat-eating norms and their national social identification, on the one hand, and their attitudes toward meat-eating and their intentions to eat meat, on the other hand. In a sample that includes American, British, and Australian participants, we observe that: (1) favorable attitudes toward meat eating are positively predicted by national injunctive but not descriptive norms, and (2) intentions to eat meat are positively predicted by national descriptive but not injunctive norms. National social identification positively predicts both attitudes and intentions. Intentions to eat meat were also predicted by a three-way interaction between descriptive and injunctive norms, and social identification. Alignment of relatively high descriptive and injunctive meat-eating norms predicted meat-eating intentions more than alignment of relatively low descriptive and injunctive norms. With normative misalignment, however, people began to rely on their national social identifications as a basis for meat-eating intentions. The data are discussed with reference to the impact of social factors in influencing meat consumption. Moreover, we consider the potential for national social identification to have a normative component of meat consumption independent of descriptive and injunctive norms. This work advances our understanding of meat consumption by revealing national-level normative and identity processes beyond more focused identities of, for example, an environmentalist, a health conscious person, or an animal rights activist.

Childhood maltreatment and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in adult men and women:Findings from project EAT.

This study examined gender differences in the association between childhood maltreatment and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in adulthood. Data were derived from 1647 adults (ages 27-33) participating in a population-based, longitudinal study (Project EAT-IV: Eating Among Teens and Young Adults, 1998-2016). Childhood maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect) and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors (overeating, binge eating, extreme weight control behaviors, unhealthy weight control behaviors, chronic dieting, weight and shape concerns) were assessed. Relative risk regression models were used to examine whether childhood maltreatment was related to individual disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Gender differences in these associations were explored. A history of any childhood maltreatment was associated with more than 60% greater risk for chronic dieting and overeating, with additional associations found for binge eating, weight and shape concerns, and unhealthy weight control behaviors. All types of abuse and neglect were associated with at least one type of disordered eating outcome. Examination of the point estimates indicated that emotional neglect was most consistently related to higher risk for disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Although there were no statistically significant gender differences in the association between childhood maltreatment and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, the patterning of these effects highlighted unique qualitative similarities and differences in these relationships between men and women. Taken together, these findings implicate childhood maltreatment, particularly emotional neglect, as a meaningful risk factor for problematic eating outcomes in both men and women during adulthood.

Nostalgia makes people eat healthier.

Nostalgia is a prominently used emotion in marketing. This work adds to the burgeoning literature on how feelings of nostalgia influence consumption behavior by investigating how nostalgia influences eating attitudes and behaviors. Two experiments showed that people consumed more and reported more favorable attitudes towards healthy food when feeling nostalgic (versus neutral). Nostalgia also diminished the consumption of unhealthy food. Process evidence revealed that nostalgia's differential influence on the consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods is due to increased perceptions of social support. Since perceptions of social support increase self-control resources, individuals were better able to make healthier food choices when in a nostalgic (versus neutral) state. The findings provided behavioral evidence that nostalgia positively influences healthy eating attitudes and behavior, and established perceived social support as an important mechanism underlying these effects. This work suggests that nostalgia can be a useful tool not only in our commercial marketing efforts, but also in public policy, in that it can help promote healthy food intake and well-being.

Disordered Eating, Development of Menstrual Irregularity, and Reduced Bone Mass Change After a 3-Year Follow-Up In Female Adolescent Endurance Runners.

This prospective study evaluated the 3-year change in menstrual function and bone mass among 40 female adolescent endurance runners (age 15.9 ± 1.0 years) according to baseline disordered eating status. Three years after initial data collection, runners underwent follow-up measures including the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire and a survey evaluating menstrual function, running training, injury history, and prior sports participation. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to measure bone mineral density and body composition. Runners with a weight concern, shape concern, or global score ≥4.0 or reporting >1 pathologic behavior in the past 28 days were classified with disordered eating. Compared with runners with normal Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire scores at baseline, runners with disordered eating at baseline reported fewer menstrual cycles/year (6.4 ± 4.5 vs. 10.5 ± 2.8, p = .005), more years of amenorrhea (1.6 ± 1.4 vs. 0.3 ± 0.5, p = .03), and a higher proportion of menstrual irregularity (75.0% vs. 31.3%, p = .02) and failed to increase lumbar spine or total hip bone mineral density at the 3-year follow-up. In a multivariate model including body mass index and menstrual cycles in the past year at baseline, baseline shape concern score (B = -0.57, p value = .001) was inversely related to the annual number of menstrual cycles between assessments. Weight concern score (B = -0.40, p value = .005) was inversely associated with lumbar spine bone mineral density Z-score change between assessments according to a multivariate model adjusting for age and body mass index. These finding support associations between disordered eating at baseline and future menstrual irregularities or reduced accrual of lumbar spine bone mass in female adolescent endurance runners.

Gestational weight gain and eating-related disorders.

This prospective cohort study took place at the Division of Perinatal Medicine of Policlinico Abano Terme, Italy, from January to November 2018. In the second day postpartum, 463 healthy at term puerperae, 122 (26.35%) with inadequate gestational weight gain (GWG), 210 (45.46%) with adequate GWG, and 131 (28.29%) with excessive GWG, were studied by EAT-26, through distinguishing three factors: 'Dieting', 'Bulimia and food preoccupation', and 'Oral control'. EAT-26 Global score increased from inadequate, to adequate, and excessive GWG puerperae, resulting significantly higher in excessive GWG group (p = .0029, Anova's). In addition, among EAT-26 subscales 'Dieting' scores significantly increased from inadequate, to adequate, and to excessive GWG category women, resulting significantly higher in excessive GWG group (p = .006, Anova's). It was found that excessive GWG is a warning indicator of unhealthy eating and 'Dieting' disorders. This relationship highlights the potential for interventions directed towards psychosocial support to have salutary effects upon GWG.Excessive gestational weight gain across an uncomplicated pregnancy is a warning indicator of unhealthy eating and dieting disorders.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? Pregnancy represents a time of rapid trimester-specific changes in body weight and size.What do the results of this study add? Excessive gestational weight gain is a warning indicator of unhealthy eating and dieting disorders.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? This relationship highlights the potential for interventions directed towards psychosocial support to have salutary effects upon gestational weight gain.

The children's eating attitudes test: French validation of a short version.

PURPOSE: Disordered eating attitudes and behaviors (DEAB) in childhood have been prospectively associated with eating disorders and obesity in adolescence. Therefore, evaluating DEAB in children with a reliable, sensitive and well-adapted scale is very important. The Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) is one of the most popular measuring tools for DEAB in children, but no French version is available. Moreover, while completion time is an important factor to be considered when working with children, only one recent study proposed a shorter version of the ChEAT. Taking the previous works of Murphy and colleagues (2019) as a starting point, the current study aimed to provide the first French-speaking validated 14-item short version of the ChEAT. METHODS: A sample of 1092 boys and girls aged between 8 and 12 years old were recruited in two urban areas in the province of Quebec, Canada. They completed the ChEAT, and their height and weight were measured at school. Factorial structure and internal consistency were assessed. RESULTS: After the initial factorial analysis, two "vomiting (or purging)" items were yielded as problematic and were thus removed from the analysis. The remaining 12 items provided a good fit to the data and a good internal consistency. Moreover, the factorial structure was proved to be invariant across sexes. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to provide a French assessment of DEAB in elementary school children. The French short version of the ChEAT provided a quick and reliable assessment for DEAB with non-clinical children population and could be used as a screening tool, even though no cut-off was established yet. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Cross-sectional, descriptive study, Level V.

Binge eating, orthorexia nervosa, restrained eating, and quality of life: a population study in Lebanon.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the implication of disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) on the quality of life (QOL) of a sample of the Lebanese population, after adjustment over sociodemographic characteristics of those participants. Secondary objective aimed to assess the role of body dissatisfaction (BD) in the association of DEBs and QOL. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done between January and May 2018 and enrolled 811 participants from the community. A proportionate random sample technique was used to select the sample from all Lebanese Mohafazat. The World Health Organization Quality-of-life (WHOQOL)-BREF was used to assess the QOL and it includes four domains: physical health, psychological health, social relations, and environment. RESULTS: Body dissatisfaction was found to be a major confounding factor contributing to psychological and environmental HQOL impairments in patient with restrained eating. Nevertheless, orthorexia nervosa was associated with QOL impairments in its physical and environmental domains, regardless of body dissatisfaction that was shown to be a major contributor for QOL impairments. Similarly, ON was directly correlated with QOL of life impairment in its physical and environmental domains, independently of all other risk factors. CONCLUSION: When adding body dissatisfaction as a confounding variable, restrained eating and orthorexia nervosa remained significantly associated with quality-of-life impairments. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Consumer Nutrition Knowledge and Dietary Behavior in Urban Ethiopia: A Comprehensive Study.

This paper studies the association between nutrition knowledge and consumer dietary behavior using large survey data from 996 respondents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We find that health was the most important factor in individuals' food choice. However, most consumers were found to have imperfect understanding of the link between food and health. Especially, the causes and consequences of obesity were poorly understood. A considerable proportion of respondents also endorsed harmful food taboos. We found that nutrition knowledge was positively associated with more diversified diets and healthy eating attitudes and practices. Individuals with higher levels of nutrition knowledge were also more likely to reject harmful food taboos.

The eating attitudes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

AIM: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients show multiple physiological deficits and several neuropsychological comorbidities. The aim of this study was to investigate the eating attitudes in OSAS patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Polysomnography records of 157 were performed. Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were applied to all participants. RESULTS: The mean age of the 157 individuals included in the study was 47.2 ± 11.4 (18-76) years and 36% (n = 56) of the individuals were female and 64% (n = 101) were male. When the patients were ranked according to the severity of OSAS, 38.2% (n = 60) were severe, 20.4% (n = 32) were moderate, 24.2% (n = 38) were mild, and 17.2% (n = 27) were OSAS negative. There was a significant difference in terms of the age-and-BMI-adjusted EAT score according to OSAS severity (p = .042). There was a significant difference in the age-and-BMI-adjusted value of the EAT according to the presence of OSAS (p = .011). After controlling age and BMI, no significant correlation was found between the EAT and the BDI (r = 0.012, p = .890) in patients with OSAS while there was a significant positive correlation EAT and the BAI (r = 0.177, p = .046). CONCLUSIONS: Considering the association of OSAS with psychiatric disorders, the presence of eating disorders (EDs) becomes an important and special topic. Treatment of patients with OSAS should not only aim to improve the patient's sleep apnea, but also to improve the patient's quality of life by evaluating the patient's psychological and physical functions.