Quality of life and eating attitudes of health care students.

Daniela Galdino Costa,Rejane Maria Dias de Abreu Gonçalves,Vanderlei José Haas,Cíntia Tavares Carleto,Leila Aparecida Kauchakje Pedrosa,Virgínia Souza Santos

doi:10.1590/0034-7167-2017-0224

Daniela Galdino Costa, Rejane Maria Dias de Abreu Gonçalves + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2017-0224

Copy DOI

Abstract

To assess the quality of life and eating attitudes of health care students of the undergraduate programs of a public university. Observational, cross-sectional, and quantitative study performed in a federal university. Three questionnaires were used for data collection: a socio-demographic and academic, the WHOQOL-BREF and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). 399 students participated in this study, most women, average age of 22 years, average scores of EAT-26 of 15.12 and quality-of-life averages above 60 points in all domains. The students of the undergraduate program in Nutrition presented more inappropriate eating attitudes than other health care students; as the age evolves, vulnerability to inadequate eating attitudes increases; and the family income influenced negatively the quality of life in Physical and Social domains. Inadequate eating attitude diminishes the quality of life of health care students in all domains of the WHOOQOL-BREF.

Highlights

Food and nutrition must be appropriate to the biological and social aspects of people and to comply with food needs, considering culture, race, gender, ethnicity, financial condition, social and cultural dimensions of the act of eating
The sex did not lead to a difference of inadequate attitudes among health care students, contradicting most studies that claim a higher prevalence in women
The students of the undergraduate program in Nutrition showed inadequate eating attitudes when compared to students of other health areas; they were considered the most exposed to risk of eating disorders, which deserves attention because they will be professionals who will work with the prevention and promotion of healthy eating habits

Summary

Introduction

Food and nutrition must be appropriate to the biological and social aspects of people and to comply with food needs, considering culture, race, gender, ethnicity, financial condition, social and cultural dimensions of the act of eating. Abnormal eating attitudes include several related symptoms and characterized three main types of eating disorders, namely: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating[3]. Anorexia nervosa is defined as a psychiatric disorder, characterized by diagnostic criteria related to: the restriction of caloric intake considering the needs; the inability to maintain a proper and healthy weight regarding age and gender; the intense fear of gaining weight or getting fat; the non-recognition of the severity of underweight; and the beginning of symptoms occurring usually in adolescence or young adult[4]. The person with bulimia nervosa presents recurrent episodes of binge eating – which can be understood as “ingestion in a determined time of a quantity of food definitely larger than most individuals would eat in the same time in similar circumstances” – combined with the feeling of lack of control over the situation. The inappropriate compensatory behaviors to not gain weight are self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives and diuretics, fasting or excessive exercise, being that binge eating and compensatory behaviors occur at least once per week for three months[4]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion