Abstract
BackgroundBeing overweight is an increasing problem among young people, among whom disordered eating behavior is linked with weight problems as well as unhealthy weight control. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether health factors and motives to exercise differ in young men by the type of disordered eating behavior.MethodsThe population-based, cross-sectional MOPO study consisted of 2,096 young Finnish men (mean age 17.9, SD 0.7) attending compulsory call-ups for military service in the Oulu area in 2010, 2011, and 2013. They responded to a questionnaire that included two subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 indicating drive for thinness and bulimic behavior and questions on health, physical activity, and motives to exercise. The association between disordered eating behavior and related factors was analyzed by binary logistic regression.ResultsAltogether, 6.9 % (n = 145) of the men had symptoms of disordered eating, i.e., 5.4 % had a drive for thinness (n = 114) and 3.7 % had bulimic behavior (n = 77). Drive for thinness was associated with a perception of being overweight (OR 3.7; 95 % CI 2.2–6.1), poor self-rated health (2.3; 1.2–4.4), more leisure sitting time (1.1; 1.0–1.2), and body-related exercise motives (body acceptance: 3.0; 1.7–5.2; weight loss: 2.5; 1.4–4.4). Bulimic behavior was positively associated with poor self-rated health (2.6; 1.1–5.8) and several motives to exercise, i.e., due to another person’s suggestion (2.8; 1.6–4.8), competitive sports (2.1; 1.2–3.7), body acceptance (2.1; 1.1–3.9), and weight loss (1.9; 1.1–3.3), but inversely associated with health/fitness-related exercise motives (health promotion: 0.3; 0.1–0.5; muscular strength or physical performance: 0.5; 0.2–0.9).ConclusionsIn young men, disordered eating behavior was associated with being overweight, having poor self-rated health, and having a greater amount of leisure sitting time as well as non-health-related motives to exercise. In order to recognize those at risk for disordered eating behavior, evaluating these factors could be beneficial.
Highlights
Being overweight is an increasing problem among young people, among whom disordered eating behavior is linked with weight problems as well as unhealthy weight control
The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of disordered eating behavior (DEB) and its relationships with health, physical activity, and motives to exercise
Those who did not complete (n = 1,446) the study questionnaire did not differ from the study participants regarding perceived weight, self-rated health, sedentary behavior, and anthropometric measures
Summary
Being overweight is an increasing problem among young people, among whom disordered eating behavior is linked with weight problems as well as unhealthy weight control. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether health factors and motives to exercise differ in young men by the type of disordered eating behavior. Eating disorders are usually classified into the categories of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and atypical eating disorders (eating disorders not otherwise specified), such as binge eating disorder. These disorders are much more common in women than in men. DEB, Nurkkala et al BMC Public Health (2016) 16:483 together with its comorbidities, can cause considerable adverse effects on an individual’s health and wellbeing as well as on society’s health care costs
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