Abstract
Backgrounds:Many socio cultural variables could be affect eating disorders in Asian countries. In Iran, there are few researches regarding eating disorders and their contributing factors. The aim of this study is to explore frequency of eating disorders and their risk factors in an Iranian population.Materials and Methods:About 1204 participants were selected aged between fourteen to 55 years. Frequency of eating disorders and effects of variables such as demographic characteristics, Body Mass Index (BMI), use of media, body dissatisfaction, self-esteem, social comparison and social pressure for thinness in individuals with and without eating disorders, were assessed.Findings:The prevalence of eating disorders was 11.5% that included 0.8% anorexia nervosa, 6.2% full threshold bulimia nervosa, 1.4% sub threshold anorexia nervosa and 30% sub threshold binge eating disorder. Symptoms of bulimic syndrome were greater in males.Conclusion:In Iran, eating disorders and related problems are new issue that could be mentioned seriously The identification of these disorders and their related contributing factors are necessity of management and preventive programs planning.
Highlights
Eating disorders that include Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Eating Disorders Otherwise Not Specified (EDNOS) are known as disorders with major health consequences (American Psychiatric Association, 2004; Howk & van Hoken, 2003), such as restrictive dieting, depression and even death
Body dissatisfaction and disturbances in body image are regarded as the central cores in eating disorders, and such affected people evaluate themselves as obese, even if they are thin
Eating disorders were known as a phenomenon of western culture especially amongst women (Howk &van Hoken, 2003); over recent years, eating disorders are increasing in eastern cultures as well (Chan & Owens, 2005; Chen & Jackson, 2008; Mellor et al, 2009)
Summary
Eating disorders that include Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Eating Disorders Otherwise Not Specified (EDNOS) are known as disorders with major health consequences (American Psychiatric Association, 2004; Howk & van Hoken, 2003), such as restrictive dieting, depression and even death. Eating disorders were known as a phenomenon of western culture especially amongst women (Howk &van Hoken, 2003); over recent years, eating disorders are increasing in eastern cultures as well (Chan & Owens, 2005; Chen & Jackson, 2008; Mellor et al, 2009). The prevalence of eating disorders in western countries was reported to be about 0.3 to 1% amongst young females (Howk &van Hoken, 2003). In the south western region of Asia, there are a few researches about the prevalence of eating disorders; for instance, in United Arab Emirates, 2% of adolescent girls met the diagnostic criteria for eating disorders (Thomas, Khan, & Abdulrahman, 2010). In Jordan, adolescent girls had bulimia nervosa (0.6%), binge eating disorder (1.8%) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (31%). There was no anorexia nervosa reported (Yousef Mousa, 2010)
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