Prevalence of the Alarming Symptoms of Eating Disorders Among KSAU-HS Students, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction: Eating disorders are considered one of the severe major illnesses which may lead to serious conditions and possibly fatality. They cause severe disturbances in a persons eating behaviours. Aim: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of symptoms of eating disorders among medical students at the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS)who were at the basic science level. Results: Of the 249 students, 75.1% were males. 44.2% of the students were either overweight or obese. The prevalence of students with symptoms of eating disorders according to the EAT-26 questionnaire was 26.5%. No significant differences were observed in the prevalence of eating disorders in terms of age and gender. Conclusion: The prevalence of eating disorders with symptoms among medical students was 26.5%. Eating disorders(ED) were widely prevalent in overweight or obese students but there was no significance in terms of age and gender. A call for future research that could support and expand the understanding of the prevalence of ED in our region and what factors cause it to be warranted. Keywords: Eating disorder, EAT-26, prevalence, KSAU-HS students