Abstract
Aim of the studyThe aim of the study was to assess the correlation between the results of the Polish version of Maloney’s ChEAT-26, the socio-economical status of pre-pubertal pupils from Krakow schools and their family situation.Subject or material and methodsThe study group comprised 218 pupils that attended Grades from 4 to 6 and their mothers. The children’s ChEAT-26 results were related to family structure, emigration, parental education, the mother’s state of health and her subjective judgement of her state of health and her family circumstances, employment status and financial circumstances.ResultsDisordered eating attitudes of the children were elevated in families where one of the parents had emigrated. Parents with higher education levels tend to have a stronger influence on their child’s eating habits. The children of such parents are more aware of dietary standards, they tend to control their eating habits more but they also get less pleasure out of eating food. Having the mother achieve professional success, in her estimation, turned out to be positively correlated with an increased desire in her child to lose weight. A mother’s positive assessment of her family was correlated with her child’s greater compliance with the principles of healthy eating. Some of the observed correlations were different in the boys’ group and in the girls’ group.DiscussionAny discussion concerning the relationship of the obtained results with a change in the social circumstance, although likely, is only hypothetical.ConclusionsStudy has provided evidence of a connection between socioeconomic status, family variables and eating attitudes in young children in modern Poland.
Highlights
Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the many important factors that influence the various aspects of child development and child health from the very first stages of life [1]
Understood as the capability of being able to control eating, is synonymous with displaying strong will, perfectionism, success and attractiveness [3]. Both epidemiological and cross-cultural data support the relevance of the thin ideal as social factors that contribute to the extreme weight control behaviours that characterize anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa
Research suggests that eating disorders may be prevented by interventions that challenge the thin ideal within peer groups of late adolescent females [4]
Summary
Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the many important factors that influence the various aspects of child development and child health from the very first stages of life [1]. SES influences both extremes of weight and body issues. Understood as the capability of being able to control eating, is synonymous with displaying strong will, perfectionism, success and attractiveness [3]. Both epidemiological and cross-cultural data support the relevance of the thin ideal as social factors that contribute to the extreme weight control behaviours that characterize anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. A number of studies indicate a correlation between low SES and obesity, non-observance of dietary norms and a lack of interest in body shape and weight control in developed countries [5, 6]
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