Zinc-specific Food Frequency Questionnaire To Assess College Women’s Eating Habits

2009 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 204-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet M. Lacey ◽  
Deanne U. Zotter

Zinc deficiency has been reported in individuals with eating disorders, the risks of which increase during the adolescent and early adult years. A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) specific for zinc-rich foods was tested for its usefulness in identifying problematic eating behaviour tendencies in college-age women. Ninety-two female students enrolled in a university introductory psychology course volunteered to complete demographic information, the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and a zinc-specific FFQ (ZnFFQ). Relationships among estimated zinc intakes, food/lifestyle habits, and eating attitude variables were examined. Twenty-five women had estimated intakes below the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for zinc. Individuals in the highest zinc intake group (over twice the RDA) had a tendency to score higher on the EAT-26 and the bulimia subscale. Vegetarians also scored high on the EAT-26. Although our data are limited, the ZnFFQ should be studied further to determine whether it could play a useful role in identifying individuals at risk for bulimia. The ZnFFQ is a simple, non-confrontational assessment tool and may be a helpful starting point for identifying women with unhealthy eating habits.

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Alejandro Martínez-Rodríguez ◽  
Manuel Vicente-Martínez ◽  
Javier Sánchez-Sánchez ◽  
Laura Miralles-Amorós ◽  
María Martínez-Olcina ◽  
...  

(1) Background: The preoccupation with the increasing appearance of eating disorders (ED) in athletes continues to grow, especially in athletes who practice team sports. ED severely affects the eating habits of the athletes, who tend to use unhealthy approaches to control their body weight. The development of nutritional education and early interventions by training staff is essential, and these factors are widely perceived as beneficial in sports medicine. This study evaluates the frequency at which beach handball (BH) players develop ED, also comparing the differences by sex and age (junior: adolescents vs. senior: young adults). In addition, the relation between body composition variables and ED was studied. (2) Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in 69 top elite handball players (36 males and 33 females) from the Spanish National BH Team; who were separated by age (junior: adolescents and senior: young adults). The athletes completed the Eating Attitudes Test in its 26 item version (EAT-26). (3) Results: The prevalence of ED indicated that 11% of females had a high possibility of developing an ED, and 3% of males. Regarding the EAT-26 total score and subscales, no significant differences were found between female and male participants, or between the junior and senior categories. The correlations showed an association between body composition, in terms of body mass index, and the EAT-26 total score in both males and females. In the case of males, the correlation was negative. (4) Conclusions: Although there are no significant differences between sex or categories, it has been found that elite athletes are a population that is at high risk of developing ED.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (suppl 4) ◽  
pp. 1642-1649
Author(s):  
Daniela Galdino Costa ◽  
Cíntia Tavares Carleto ◽  
Virgínia Souza Santos ◽  
Vanderlei José Haas ◽  
Rejane Maria Dias de Abreu Gonçalves ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the quality of life and eating attitudes of health care students of the undergraduate programs of a public university. Method: 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). Result: 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. Conclusions: Inadequate eating attitude diminishes the quality of life of health care students in all domains of the WHOOQOL-BREF.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Neville ◽  
Michelle McKinley ◽  
Frank Kee ◽  
Ian Young ◽  
Chris Cardwell ◽  
...  

AbstractAccurate assessment of dietary intake in older populations is important for determining the role of diet in healthy ageing. The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a commonly used dietary assessment tool, however there is limited evidence regarding its utility for accurately assessing fruit and vegetable (FV) intake in older adults. The objective of this study was to validate FV intakes estimated from the FFQ used in the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA) against a food diary (FD).A dietary validation study was conducted in a sub-sample of 95 participants (45 males, 50 females, aged > 50 years) from NICOLA. Participants were asked to complete a FFQ and 4-day FD (reference method) at two time-points (Month 0 and Month 6). Self-reported FV intakes were compared between methods using Spearman's correlation coefficients, examining the percentage of participants classified into the same or adjacent quartile of FV intake, weighted kappa and Bland-Altman plots.Median fruit, vegetable and total FV intake were significantly higher in the FFQ than the FD at both Month 0 and Month 6 (all p < 0.001). Significant positive correlations (all p < 0.05) were observed between the FFQ and FD estimates of FV intake at both time-points (Month 0, r = 0.57, 0.50 and 0.49 for fruit, vegetables, total FV, respectively; Month 6 r = 0.56, 0.42 and 0.50, respectively). When FV intakes were classified into fourths (based upon quartiles of total FV portions by FD or FFQ), 80 % and 79 % of participants were classified into the same or adjacent quartile at Month 0 and Month 6, respectively. Weighted kappa indicated a fair-moderate agreement between the two methods for FV intake (weighted kappa = 0.35 and 0.37 at Month 0 and Month 6, respectively). Bland-Altman plots showed that, as FV intake increased, there was a widening in limits of agreements, between the FFQ and FD. There was also a significant positive correlation noted between total FV intakes reported at Month 0 and those reported at Month 6 (r = 0.70, p < 0.001).Over-reporting of FV intake was evident with the FFQ compared to the FD, however, the results showed good comparability between the methods in being able to rank older adults according to their FV intake. An additional analysis of FV biomarkers obtained from this sample will provide a more objective assessment of FV intake by each method.


2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piangchai S Jennings ◽  
David Forbes ◽  
Brett Mcdermott ◽  
Gary Hulse ◽  
Sato Juniper

Objective: To examine eating disorder attitudes and psychopathology among female university students in Australia and Thailand. Method: Participants were 110 Caucasian Australians, 130 Asian Australians and 101 Thais in Thailand. The instruments included the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI). Results: Eating disorder attitudes and psychopathology scores in the Thai group were found to be highest. The Asian Australian group did not have significantly higher scores on the EAT-26 than the Caucasian Australian group, but had higher scores in some subscales of the EDI-2. That the Thai group had the highest scores in susceptibility to developing an eating disorder and eating disorder psychopathology may be partially explained in sociocultural terms, with pressure to be thin more extreme in Thailand than in Australia. The evidence suggested that unhealthy eating disorder psychopathology is not limited to Western societies but is already present in Thai and other Asian societies.


1988 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 834-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praful Chandarana ◽  
Edward Helmes ◽  
Nancy Benson

A survey of 577 high school students was conducted to assess attitudes toward eating and their relationship to demographic and personality characteristics. Students completed a demographic questionnaire, and Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) and the Basic Personality Inventory (A-BPI). When a cut-off score of 20 on EAT-26 was applied, overall prevalence of disordered eating attitude was found to be 7.5%. Groups scoring in pathological versus normal ranges showed no significant difference in mean age, socioeconomic status or race. The former group reported significantly shorter height and lower body weight. Of the subjects, 6.06% reported weight below the 10th percentile. This subgroup did not vary from those above the 10th percentile on sociodemographic and psychopathological variables, nor in prevalence of abnormal eating attitudes. Analysis of the A-BPI data showed subjects with abnormal eating attitudes had increased psychopathology in several areas, with greater neurotic tendencies, lower self-esteem and higher levels of deviant thinking and behaviour.


2008 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. 909-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Krug ◽  
Janet Treasure ◽  
Marija Anderluh ◽  
Laura Bellodi ◽  
Elena Cellini ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to examine whether there is an association between individual and family eating patterns during childhood and early adolescence and the likelihood of developing a subsequent eating disorder (ED). A total of 1664 participants took part in the study. The ED cases (n 879) were referred for assessment and treatment to specialized ED units in five different European countries and were compared to a control group of healthy individuals (n 785). Participants completed the Early Eating Environmental Subscale of the Cross-Cultural (Environmental) Questionnaire, a retrospective measure, which has been developed as part of a European multicentre trial in order to detect dimensions associated with ED in different countries. In the control group, also the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), the semi-structured clinical interview (SCID-I) and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) were used. Five individually Categorical Principal Components Analysis (CatPCA) procedures were adjusted, one for each theoretically expected factor. Logistic regression analyses indicated that the domains with the strongest effects from the CatPCA scores in the total sample were: food used as individualization, and control and rules about food. On the other hand, healthy eating was negatively related to a subsequent ED. When differences between countries were assessed, results indicated that the pattern of associated ED factors did vary between countries. There was very little difference in early eating behaviour on the subtypes of ED. These findings suggest that the fragmentation of meals within the family and an excessive importance given to food by the individual and the family are linked to the later development of an ED.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Marinov ◽  
D Najdenova ◽  
T Dimitrova

Abstract Background Healthy eating behaviour of children determines their normal physical and neuropsychological status. Epidemiological data has revealed an increasing prevalence rate of disordered eating behaviour in the population for all ages and genders. It is most common in adolescent girls who often conduct extreme weight control practices, driven by a desire to achieve the “perfect” body shape. Methods A study was conducted among 240 adolescent girls from Varna aiming to estimate their eating behaviour. The data was collected via: • Anthropometric measurements for assessment of the nutritional status Bioelectrical impedance analysis of body composition assessmentQuestionnaires including: Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ); The Eating Attitudes Test - 26 (EAT- 26) to access the risk factors for the development of eating disorders (ED); Questionnaire for identification of risk factors contributing to early dieting. Results The analysis of the results shows that the eating behaviour of the female students aged from 14 to 19 years in Varna can be defined as risky. Findings demonstrate a significant percentage of subjects who are on a diet at the time of the survey. Over 36% of the participants show at least 1 symptom correlating with an increased risk for the development of ED and 22.7% are at very high risk of developing an ED in the future. Conclusions The findings suggest that adolescent girls tend to engage in unhealthy approaches trying to reach their “thin ideal”. Early detection of disordered eating behaviour is especially important to prevent the development of clinically expressed ED and the complications associated with them. Key messages The study has revealed that a significant percentage of adolescent girls are at high risk of developing an eating disorder. The data shows a need for an early detection program for risky eating behaviour in order to prevent the development of ED amongst adolescents.


1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 586-586
Author(s):  
JM Lecerf ◽  
B. Lefebvre ◽  
O. Arade ◽  
V. Boulinguez ◽  
D. Isorez

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