Drive for thinness, health consciousness and eating behavior in college students

Abstract

Relationships among the drive for thinness, health consciousness, other psychological factors and eating behaviors in college students (n = 128: 79 male; mean BMI = 21.33: 109 female; mean BMI = 20.48) was investigated. They completed the Contour Drawing Rating Scale, the Sense of Health Scale, the Self-Esteem Scale, the Japanese version of STAI and the Japanese version of DEBQ. Results from Structural Equation Modeling indicated that for female students, the drive for thinness was influenced by BMI, and health consciousness was influenced by the drive for thinness via self-esteem and trait anxiety. Moreover, restraint in eating was influenced by the drive for thinness, whereas other eating behaviors were related to the drive for thinness via self-esteem and trait anxiety. In male students, there was a significant relationship between the drive for thinness and restraint in eating. These results suggest that there are gender differences between the drive for thinness and self-esteem, trait anxiety, and health consciousness.View full abstract