Signs of subclinical eating disorders in teenage girls.

OBJECTIVE

To study possible indicators for subclinical eating disorders among teenage girls.

DESIGN

A descriptive cross-sectional study based on two anonymous self-report questionnaires.

SETTING

Girls aged 15 to 19 years in secondary high school in Bergen, Norway.

SUBJECTS: 100 girls, mean age 16.6 years, were included. One girl fulfilled DSM-III-R criteria for bulimia nervosa, and was therefore excluded from analysis. Ten girls fulfilled criteria for subclinical eating disorders.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire and a 48-item questionnaire designed for the study were used. Attitudes towards own body size/weight, food habits, and somatic symptoms were studied.

RESULTS

Girls with subclinical eating disorders experienced their own body as fatter and were more unhappy with their weight than girls without eating problems. They more often skipped breakfast or lunch, reported more dyspeptic problems and regurgitation, and had a larger weight fluctuation than girls without eating problems.

CONCLUSION

Questions about main meals may serve as neutral opening questions for the general practitioner when case finding in eating disorders. Obviously unrealistic feelings about body size/weight indicate the need to enquire more closely about symptoms of eating disorders.