Abstract
Epidemiological studies on eating disorders in southern Italy are practically non-existent. This study evaluated the eating attitudes and the prevalence of eating disorders in a sample of 795 students (588 females and 207 males) among 6 secondary schools from Lecce. A two-stage study was conducted: a first screening stage followed by a clinical inter view. 58.4% of girls and 19.7% of boys displayed dissatisfaction with regard to their own body. Current dieting was more prevalent in girls (18.7%) than in boys (4.8%); 17.9% of nor mal weight girls and 11.7% of underweight girls were on a restrictive diet; while only 2.5% of normal weight boys were on a diet. Point prevalence rates of eating disorders found in our sample were: 0.2% anorexia nervosa, 1.7% bulimia nervosa, and 4% eating disorders no otherwise specified category. Although southern Italians are stereotypically different from the northern Italians in terms of physical traits, historical, cultural and social backgrounds the prevalence of eating disorders in southern Italian adolescent sample is surprisingly simi lar to those reported by the areas of both northern and central Italy as well as other western countries.
References
Hoek H.W.: Review of the epidemiological studies of eating disorders. Int. Rev. Psychiatry 5, 61–75, 1993.
Santonastaso P., Zanetti T., Sala A., Favaretto G., Vidotto G., Favaro A.: Prevalence of eating disorders in Italy: A survey on a sample of 16-year of female students. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 65, 158–162, 1996.
Dotti A., Lazzari R., Girmenia E., De Sanctis S., Di Giusto M.: Disturbi della condotta alimentare: primi risultati di una ricerca epidemiologica nelle scuole romane. Psichiatria e Psicoterapia Analitica, 10, 301–312, 1991.
Cuzzolaro M.: Epidemiology of eating disorders: Some remarks on long-term trends in incidence and prevalence in western countries. In: Ferrari E., Brambilla Solerte S.B. (Eds.), Primary and secondary eating disorders: A psychoneuroendocrine and metabolic approach. Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1993, pp. 105–112.
Garner D.M., Garfinkel P.E.: The eating attitude test: An index of symptoms of anorexia nervosa. Psychol. Med. 9, 273–279, 1979.
Garner D.M., Olmsted M.P., Bohr Y., Garfinkel P.E.: The Eating Attitude Test: Psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychol. Med. 12, 871–878, 1982.
Cuzzolaro M., Petrilli A.: Validazione della versione italiana dell'EAT 40 [Italian validation of the Italian version of EAT 40]. Psichiatria dell’Infanzia e dell’Adolescenza, 55, 209–217, 1988.
Fairburn C.G., Cooper Z.: The Eating Disorder Examination (12.0D). In: Fairburn C.G., Wilson G.T. (Eds.) Binge eating: Nature, assessment, and treatment. New York, Guilford Press, 1993.
American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, ed 4. Washington, APA, 1994.
Havigurst R.: The impact of population change and working force damage on American education. The Educational Record, 1960.
Nutrition and your health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ed.4, 1995.
Patton G.C., Johnson-Sabine E., Wood K., Mann A.H., Walkeling A.: Abnormal eating attitudes in London schoolgirls — a prospective epidemiological study: outcome at twelve-month follow-up. Psychol. Med. 20, 383–394, 1990.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grave, R.D., De Luca, L. & Oliosi, M. Eating attitudes and prevalence of eating disorders: A survey in secondary schools in Lecce, southern Italy. Eat Weight Disord 2, 34–37 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03339947
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03339947