Prevalence of behaviors associated with binge eating disorder (BED) in nutrition students during remote and in-person teaching.

Nutrition students are more prone to binge eating disorder (BED), due to aesthetic pressures and extensive knowledge about food. In this context, the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted signs of BED. This study aims to assess the prevalence of BED symptoms in nutrition students during remote (1st stage) and in-person learning (2nd stage). This is a cross-sectional study with a sample formed by students from 29 (1st stage) and 24 (2nd stage) undergraduate nutrition programs in public and private institutions in one city. Data were collected online using the Binge Eating Scale (BES) questionnaire and nutritional and sociodemographic characteristics. Descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted using SPSS v21.0 (p < 0.05). A total of 141 students answered the questionnaires, 24 fitting into some degree of the BED signs, 12 on each stage of data collection. All individuals with BED symptoms were female. In remote learning, three (25%) students with signs of BED were in their first year of graduation, while in in-person learning, four (33.3%) were in their first year. Except for one student with BED, all (95.8%) exhibited variations in body weight in the last 12 months. Greater signs of BED were observed in last-year students (18%) during remote learning, with questions related to binge eating and post-binge guilt contributing more to BED symptom in remote learning. A higher prevalence of BED symptoms was observed in nutrition students during remote learning. The data indicate a greater prevalence in female students, and a connection between weight variation.