OBJECTIVE: To assess the eating attitudes and behaviours of the Cypriot adolescent population at national level, and evaluate secular trends between 2003 and 2010. STUDY DESIGN: A representative sample of children and adolescents aged 10-18 years participated in a school-based, cross-sectional study during the academic years 2003-2004 and 2009-2010. METHODS: Participants completed the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) and Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3) questionnaires at school. RESULTS: Almost one in three females and one in five males scored above normal (≥20) on the EAT-26. No change in the frequency of pathological scoring was found for the drive for thinness or body dissatisfaction subscales of the EDI-3 between 2003 and 2010. However, there was a significant increase in the frequency of pathological scoring for the bulimia subscale for both genders. Females consistently scored higher than males on most scales. CONCLUSION: Disordered eating attitudes are common, with a worrisome increasing trend in bulimia among adolescents in Cyprus. There is an urgent need for intervention.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the eating attitudes and behaviours of the Cypriot adolescent population at national level, and evaluate secular trends between 2003 and 2010. STUDY DESIGN: A representative sample of children and adolescents aged 10-18 years participated in a school-based, cross-sectional study during the academic years 2003-2004 and 2009-2010. METHODS:Participants completed the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) and Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3) questionnaires at school. RESULTS: Almost one in three females and one in five males scored above normal (≥20) on the EAT-26. No change in the frequency of pathological scoring was found for the drive for thinness or body dissatisfaction subscales of the EDI-3 between 2003 and 2010. However, there was a significant increase in the frequency of pathological scoring for the bulimia subscale for both genders. Females consistently scored higher than males on most scales. CONCLUSION:Disordered eating attitudes are common, with a worrisome increasing trend in bulimia among adolescents in Cyprus. There is an urgent need for intervention.