Disordered Eating and its Association with Overweight and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adolescents in Selected High Schools of Tehran

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the association between disordered eating and overweight and also health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among adolescents in high schools of Tehran. The participants were 465 adolescents, aged 14-17 years. After anthropometric measurements, body mass index-for-age and body weight status were determined using World Health Organization cut offs. The Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™4.0) were used to assess disordered eating and HRQOL, respectively. Disordered eating was prevalent in 18.9% of adolescents, with higher prevalence in girls (26.4%) compared to boys (11.8%; χ(2):16.29, p < 0.05). Disordered eating was associated with overweight in girls (χ(2) = 11.07, p < 0.05), but not in boys (χ(2) = 2.01, p = 0.16). Disordered eating was associated with poor HRQOL especially in psychosocial domains of HRQOL. Considering the high prevalence of disordered eating and its association with overweight and poor HRQOL, preventive interventions targeting adolescents are recommended.

More than Half of High School Students Report Disordered Eating: A Cross Sectional Study among Norwegian Boys and Girls

“…This is in accordance with Musaiger et al who found a two to three times higher risk for DE among overweight/obese compared to non-overweight/obese boys and girls in seven Arab countries [ 40 ]. Corresponding values have also been found among Mexican adolescents [ 41 ] and among adolescents in high schools in Tehran [ 39 ]. Neumark-Sztainer et al [ 68 ] found that American overweight adolescents report being teased about their weight and being bothered by the teasing, and further that weight-teasing is associated with DE behaviors that may place overweight youth at increased risk for weight.…”

“…Some studies have shown a higher prevalence and/or a higher risk of DE among overweight or obese adolescents compared to normal weight adolescents [ 39 – 42 ]. These studies, however, have only used one screening instrument to define DE, thereby increasing the risk for false negative subjects.…”

Prevalence, correlates and comorbidities of feeding and eating disorders in a nationally representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents

“…Jalali‐Farahani et al () studied disordered eating by Eating Attitudes Test‐26 (EAT‐26) among 465 adolescents 14 to 16 years old in high schools of Tehran (Jalali‐Farahani et al, ). The prevalence of disordered eating was 26.4% among girls and 11.8% among boys.…”

“…Several studies have been performed on a regional scale in Iran to estimate the prevalence of eating disorders. Most of these studies were school-based (Nobakht & Dezhkam, 2000) or these studies were conducted among specific populations, such as university dormitories or fitness centers (Khabir, Sajjadi, & Aflakseir, 2016), and specific genders (mostly girls) (Jalali-Farahani, Chin, Mohd Nasir, & Amiri, 2015) or among adult populations (Khabir et al, 2016). Additionally, most of them were limited to local populations, and they were not generalizable to the country.…”

Prevalence of Eating Disorder Risk and Associations with Health‐related Quality of Life: Results from a Large School‐based Population Screening

“…HrQoL was also intensively studied in the context of overweight and obesity showing that HrQoL is especially reduced in overweight and obese adolescents (Doyle, Grange, Goldschmidt, & Wilfley, ; Latzer & Stein, ). To date, only a few studies investigated the association between disordered eating as assessed by the SCOFF and other questionnaires and HrQoL in large population samples of adolescents (Herpertz‐Dahlmann et al, ; Jalali‐Farahani, Chin, Nasir, & Amiri, ), demonstrating a decreased HrQoL in adolescents with disordered eating behaviours. Herpertz‐Dahlmann et al () observed a general association between the SCOFF score and HrQoL, but they did not analyse if there are distinct eating behaviours that are more associated with a decline in HrQoL than others.…”