Life style and risk of atypical eating disorders in university students: Reality versus perception.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this paper were to determine weight status, eating, and alcohol drinking and smoking habits of university students, to determine the association between these variables with negative self-perception of their eating habits and to assess the risk of developing eating disorders.


METHOD
A cross-sectional study was carried out on 422 university students. The parameters analyzed were: nutritional status, eating habits, alcohol/ tobacco consumption, and risk of eating disorder. Logistic regression was applied to identify factors associated with a negative perception of eating habits.


RESULTS
Out of the whole population that was analyzed, 5% were underweight, 16% overweight and 4% obese. Fifty-five percent of the sample analyzed did not consume five meals a day. The recommended foods for daily consumption were consumed below recommendations, while sausages/fatty meats, industrial pastries, lean meats, and fish were over-consumed. Overall, the population perceived their eating habits as good/very good (63%). Alcohol and tobacco consumption predominated at weekends. The girls were more image-conscious (80.6% vs. 66%) and fearful of gaining weight (52.5% vs. 23.9%). Almost 30% had a distorted perception of body image. There was a 12.8% risk of atypical anorexia nervosa and 4.7% of atypical bulimia nervosa.


CONCLUSIONS
College students led unhealthy lifestyles, mainly due to eating habits that do not conform to the establish recommendations. More than 17% are at risk of developing an atypical eating disorder. This information may be of interest in developing preventive actions.
['Castelao-Naval|Olga|O|', 'Blanco-Fernández|Ascensión|A|', 'Meseguer-Barros|Carmen Marina|CM|', 'Thuissard-Vasallo|Israel J|IJ|', 'Cerdá|Begoña|B|', 'Larrosa|Mar|M|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000067292:Alcohol Drinking in College D000818:Animals D000856:Anorexia Nervosa D001828:Body Image D015992:Body Mass Index D001835:Body Weight D052018:Bulimia Nervosa D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005247:Feeding Behavior D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders D005260:Female D005399:Fishes D006801:Humans D008019:Life Style D016015:Logistic Models D008297:Male D008461:Meat Products D008875:Middle Aged D009752:Nutritional Status D012307:Risk Factors D012737:Sex Factors D012907:Smoking D013334:Students D014495:Universities D055815:Young Adult
Smoking Anorexia Bulimia Alcohol abuse Autoimagen Conducta alimentaria Consumo alcohol Consumo tabaco Eating behaviours Self-concept