Effect of Nutrition Education on Eating Attitudes Among College-Age Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether nutrition education had an effect on eating attitudes and behaviors among a convenient sample of Bowling Green State University (BGSU) college students. The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), was used to collect the data (Garner & Garfinkel, 1979). The EAT is a 40-item. Liekert-type scale instrument used to identify characteristics of eating disorders. A convenient sample of students (n=285) was taken from an introductory food and nutrition course and two human development and family studies courses. The questionnaire was administered in a pre-test/post-test fashion. The EAT - 40 questionnaire was given as the testing device, but because fourteen items were found to be redundant the EAT - 26 was used to analyze the results (Garner et al., 1982). The current study showed that for the pre-test EAT - 26, no males and 14% of the females in the comparison group scored ≥ 19, which indicated a predisposition to an eating disorder. On the post-test EAT -26, 18% of the females in the comparison group scored ≥19. In the treatment group, 11% of the males and 22% of the females scored ≥ 19 on the pre-test and 17% of the males and 27% of the females scored ≥ 19 on the post-test. Significantly more females scored above the cut-off score on the EAT questionnaire when compared to males. Data analysis revealed significant differences between males and females on the Dieting subscale. The current research demonstrated a higher prevalence of potential eating disorder tendencies among college students in a non-clinical population at Bowling Green State University than previous studies on students at BGSU. The study determined that the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) is a valid instrument to measure potential abnormal eating attitudes and behaviors in non-clinical populations not diagnosed with eating disorders. However, it was concluded that caution should be used when using the EAT on non-clinical populations. Overall, nutrition education had a positive impact on the EAT - 26 scores of the sample of students in the treatment group.