Distorted weight perception correlates with disordered eating attitudes in Kuwaiti college women

Abstract

Objective: We investigated the presence of disordered eating attitudes and weight perception among young women at body mass index (BMI) values that correspond to underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese weight status. Method: Data were collected from 1,147 female undergraduate students (89% Kuwaiti nationals) recruited from Kuwait University through employment of the eating attitude test (EAT-26) together with an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire to determine the prevalence of symptomatology indicative of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Results: The mean EAT-26 scores differed significantly between the weight categories. More students with overweight and obesity scored above the established EAT-26 cut off value indicating at risk of disordered eating compared to students who were at a normal weight or underweight (52.1% vs. 38.8%, respectively, X2(1) =16.1, p