Occurrence of Eating Disorders in Nutrition Course Students

Abstract

Eating disorders are characterized by excessive preoccupation with weight and body image, especially by young females. Nutrition students are in constant contact with food and have the perception that good looks can be an important measure of personal value towards a successful profession. This was a descriptive study, which was carried out at INTA - UNINTA University Center. The sample consisted of 26 undergraduate students in Nutrition, from the 6th to the 9th semester. Data collection took place in November 2017. Data were collected through the application of a questionnaire, and the Portuguese version of the Food Attitudes Test (TAA - 26) was also applied, and anthropometry. The results were organized considering the information and their specificities in graphs. Regarding the results, it can be observed that the students being the majority 80.77% female, and only 19.23% male. As for the food attitudes test, 26.92% of university students are at high risk for developing eating disorders. Students with low or no risk for development of eating disorders were 73.07%. It was also possible to verify that 73.09% of the sample of this research answered the test, presenting a pathological refusal to foods of high caloric value and intense preoccupation with the physical form. When questioning the students if there was any change in their way of eating during the course of Nutrition, 69.23% answered yes, stating that they care about the quality of food consumed. The values ​​of Body Mass Index revealed that the majority of the sample is overweight. Therefore, the results found in this study are quite expressive, and it is worrying the total number of undergraduate Nutrition students who are dissatisfied with the weight. Therefore, it is considered the need of care with the feeding of this population in the academic space, mainly because they are professionals in formation in the health area.