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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health and Nutrition
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1425986

Disordered eating attitude and associated factors among late adolescent girls in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia: A Community-based Cross-sectional study

Provisionally accepted
Betlihem M. Engdyhu Betlihem M. Engdyhu Kedir A. Gonete Kedir A. Gonete Berhanu Mengistu Berhanu Mengistu *Netsanet Worku Netsanet Worku
  • University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Disordered eating attitude is characterized by abnormal beliefs, thoughts, and feelings regarding food and weight control. Globally, dieting, intentional weight loss, and weight control affect 41-62% of girls. However, there is limited information related to disordered eating attitude and associated factors among late adolescent girls in Ethiopia, including in the study area.Thus, the study aimed to assess disordered eating attitudes and associated factors among late adolescent girls in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia.For this community based cross-sectional study which was conducted from June 26 to July 26, 2022 in Gondar city, Ethiopia,1188 adolescent girls were required. Multistage stratified sampling followed systematic random sampling technique was applied to recruit the study participants. Data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaire containing eating attitudes test-26 (EAT-26). Anthropometric measurements were also taken. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were employed to identify factors associated with disordered eating attitude. In the final model, variables with p value< 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: A total of 1158 late adolescent girls (response rate of 97.5%) were participated in the study. The prevalence of disordered eating attitude among late adolescent girls was 9.7% [95% CI: 7.96, 11.4%]. Having a mother who was unable to read and write [AOR: 3.88 (95% CI: 1.07, 14.11)], having a mother who can read and write [AOR: 4.31: (95% CI: 1.14, 16.24)], having a father who only attended primary school [AOR: 3.78 (95% CI: 1.33, 10.78)], having a severe anxiety [AOR: 3.26(95% CI: 1.42, 7.49)], and severe social media usage [AOR: 2.80(95% CI:1.22, 6.46)] were significantly associated with disordered eating attitude among late adolescent girls.This study has revealed disordered eating attitude among late adolescent girls was relatively high. Educational status of parents, anxiety, and severe social media usage were positively associated with disorder eating attitude. Therefore, nutritional education for parents of adolescents who are vulnerable to unhealthy behavior is imperative. The finding also implies the importance of inclusive strategy to mitigate the emerging problem targeting vulnerable groups.

    Keywords: Disordered eating attitude, Late adolescent girl, Gondar city, Associated factors, Northwest Ethiopia

    Received: 30 Apr 2024; Accepted: 12 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Engdyhu, Gonete, Mengistu and Worku. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Berhanu Mengistu, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

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