Disordered eating attitudes in female students of An-Najah National University: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Eating disorders (ED) are serious psychiatric disorders characterized by unhealthy eating habits. There is a limited number of studies on eating disorders among female university students in Arab countries. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of disordered eating attitudes (EA) among female students at An-Najah National University, Palestine. METHODS: A survey study on 2001 female students at An-Najah National University was carried out. The Sick, Control, One Stone, Fat, Food (SCOFF) screening questionnaire and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) were used. RESULTS: Of the 2001 participants, 28.6% scored ≥ 20 on the EAT-26 while 38.2% scored ≥ 2 on the SCOFF scale. A significant positive correlation was found between body mass index (BMI) and EAT-26 and SCOFF scores. There was a significant difference in EAT-26 (p < .01) and SCOFF scores (p = .037) between different academic specializations. Female students in non-scientific fields (arts and humanities) obtained higher scores than female students in scientific/medical fields. Age was significantly and negatively correlated with EAT-26 scores but not with SCOFF scores. Approximately 85% of students with scores in the “high risk” category of the EAT-26 scale endorsed the item “I am terrified about being overweight”. CONCLUSION: Awareness regarding appropriate nutrition in relation to body weight is needed among female university students. A general university elective course in this regard might be helpful.