Association of Eating Attitudes Between Teenage Girls and Their Parents

Abstract

Mothers of eating disordered adolescents were more likely to have an eating disorder. However, some contradictory findings were reported because some studies failed to find this association. The main objective of the study was to determine the association of eating attitudes in adolescent girls with eating attitudes in their parents. A sample of 969 girls from Osona County (Barcelona, Spain) and their parents participated in the study. Girls completed the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and their weight and height were measured. Parents completed questionnaire with self-reported weight and height, demographic characteristics and EAT-26. 10.1% of girls showed high EAT-26 scores (> 20 points), indicating abnormal eating attitudes. Female adolescents were almost three times more likely to have abnormal eating attitudes if their mothers scored high on EAT-26 (OR = 2.8; 95% CI 1.5-5.2). Other significant predictors of high EAT-26 scores were age and obesity. An abnormal eating attitude of the mother was identified as a potential risk factor in the development of eating disorders in female adolescents.