Abstract
BackgroundAround 10% of the female population is estimated to have a subclinical eating disorder. Many of these women are of working age. Previous research has shown associations between unhealthy eating behaviors and occupational stress or burnout. However, no previous study has explored the association between disordered eating and work engagement, a positive, fulfilling, affective-cognitive state of mind which has been positioned as the conceptual opposite of burnout. Thus, that was the aim of the present study.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, a sample of 701 Swedish women completed the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) and the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). They were divided into a Healthy Eating (HE) and a Disordered Eating (DE) group based on their EDE-Q scores. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to test the association between disordered eating and work engagement. The Kruskal Wallis test was used to assess the associations between educational level, marital status and age group, and work engagement.ResultsNeither the UWES scores nor the EDE-Q scores were found to have a normal distribution. Non-parametric testing showed that the DE group reported significantly lower work engagement than the HE group (p = 0.016). There were no significant associations between education, marital status or age (independent variables) and work engagement (dependent variable) (p = 0.826, 0.309, and 0.349, respectively).ConclusionThese findings indicate that work engagement may play a role in disordered eating, and that there is a need for future research to consider the workplace environment as a potential source for altering disordered eating behaviors.
Highlights
Around 10% of the female population is estimated to have a subclinical eating disorder
The results of the present study showed a significant association between self-reported disordered eating behavior and lower work engagement
This may indicate that higher levels of stress and less work engagement seem to have an association with disordered eating behavior
Summary
Around 10% of the female population is estimated to have a subclinical eating disorder. Many of these women are of working age. An eating disorder is most likely to be found in the 16–30 year age range. At least two previous studies [3, 4] used a 5-item screening tool (SCOFF), and defined any respondents who answered”yes” to 2 or more items as having a subclinical eating disorder. Two studies of the prevalence of subclinical eating disorders in the general female population have found it to be 9% and 12%, respectively [3, 4]
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