Eating Disorders among a Sample of Secondary School Students In Eastern Tanta

Abstract

Eating disorders significantly impact the health and well-being of many adolescents (Hudson et al., 2007) and Ackard et al. (2007) & Culbert et al. (2011) found that adolescents are considered a group of population at risk for the development of eating disorders beside the disturbed eating attitudes and dieting behaviours among adolescents are widespread. Approximately, 36.4% of adolescent females and 23.9% of adolescent males put a great importance of both body weight and shape on self-evaluation. Also, adolescents experience the development of both primary and secondary reproductive characteristics which may impact body image (Herpertz-Dahlmann et al., 2013) and this disturbance of body image has been found to be a potent risk factor for eating disorders (Jacobi and Fittig 2010). Furthermore, adolescents’ overestimation of body weight may be linked to harmful eating disorders which are health issues of particular interest during adolescence (Zipfel et al., 2015). Moreover, these disorders have a serious consequence on physical and mental health of adolescents and adults. They often have a variety of medical complications and significant psychiatric comorbidity, some of them are irreversible and life threatening (Klump et al., 2009; Johnson, 2003