Eating habits

Eating habits, just like food preparations, have undergone many changes. People, especially in rural areas, used to eat food collectively. However, with the advances in industry and invention, these habits have taken new forms; the use of all sorts of table spoons and forks has become common between different countries and civilizations. This distinction or division in eating habits can be seen in the Moroccan society. Although some people think that Moroccans should give up eating from the same dish, this habit is actually supported by cultural, religious, and ethical reasons.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between adolescents with a high or low risk of developing an eating disorder (ED) in different health behaviors (eating habits, physical activity and the consumption of substances) per gender. The EAT-40 and the Inventory of Behavioral Health in Scholars were applied to 2142 middle school students from Alicante (Spain), of whom 52.8% were girls and 47.2% were boys, with an average age of 13.92 years old (Sd = 1.34). Results indicated that girls with a high risk of developing an ED consumed fewer meals, ate fewer unhealthy foods, followed more diets and paid more attention to nutritional components. Furthermore, they also performed more physical activity with the objective of losing weight, and consumed more tobacco, alcohol and medicines. Boys at high risk of developing an ED followed more diets and paid more attention to nutritional components. For boys, no more differences were found. These results suggest that any program dire...

Introduction: The literature recognizes differences in the prevalence, eating disorders (ED) symptoms and eating habits/behaviours by sex, but few studies in Portugal considered this subject. Objectives: To explore associations between sex, Body Mass Index (BMI), Eating Attitudes Test-25 (EAT-25) dimensions and items, the EAT-25 score dichotomized by the cutoff of 19 (a score equal/above 19 indicates “possible” ED) and, finally, some items about eating habits/behaviors; to verify possible associations between sociodemographic variables and items assessing eating habits/behaviours. Methods: 308 adolescents (M = 14,5 years; DP = 1,67; girls, n = 184, 59,7%) answered a sociodemographic questionnaire and the EAT-25. Results: There were no significant associations between sex, categorized and dimensional BMI, EAT-25 dimensions, categorized EAT-25 (cutoff of 19) and items assessing eating habits/behaviors. However, some items of the EAT-25 revealed a significant association with sex. Most...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between adolescents with a high or low risk of developing an eating disorder (ED) in different health behaviors (eating habits, physical activity and the consumption of substances) per gender. The EAT-40 and the Inventory of Behavioral Health in Scholars were applied to 2142 middle school students from Alicante (Spain), of whom 52.8% were girls and 47.2% were boys, with an average age of 13.92 years old (Sd = 1.34). Results indicated that girls with a high risk of developing an ED consumed fewer meals, ate fewer unhealthy foods, followed more diets and paid more attention to nutritional components. Furthermore, they also performed more physical activity with the objective of losing weight, and consumed more tobacco, alcohol and medicines. Boys at high risk of developing an ED followed more diets and paid more attention to nutritional components. For boys, no more differences were found. These results suggest that any program dire...

Breakfast as the most significant meal of the day is needed for the students to take before going to school. However, some students are skipping their breakfast and their body responses to this eating behavior remain unclear. This study examined students’ anxiety levels in school as a response after taking and not taking breakfast before going to school. Students are examined and there are students who eat breakfast and students who do not eat breakfast before going to school. Then, each student is given a test that measures their school anxiety level in the morning. Using weighted mean, students who eat breakfast got an overall weighted mean of which is interpreted as a disagreement of being anxious in school. On the other hand, Students who did not eat their breakfast got an overall weighted mean of which is also interpreted to disagree with being anxious. Also, it was found out that both students who eat breakfast and who don’t eat breakfast got midlevel of anxiety. Then, the ANO...

Background: Eating habits have been a major concern among university students as a determinant of health status. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of eating habits and its associated social and psychological factors among medical students. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 132 medical students of pre-clinical phase at a Malaysian university. A self-administered questionnaire was used which included questions on socio-demography, anthropometry, eating habits and psychosocial factors.

In order to keep up with the demands of consumers, the variety of food choices have expanded throughout the years. These wide arrays of selections have left students the risk to develop unhealthy eating habits and eating attitudes. Moreover, the practice of a healthy eating lifestyle has not been easy as they are exposed to different factors during their stay in college. Multiple factors that will be studied in this research are the educational stress they will go through, the level of perceived social support they acquired from friends and family, and several psychological factors, namely self-esteem and degree of loneliness. If educational stress will be the most inevitable factor any college student will experience, then it will be a significant factor linked with their eating habits and eating attitudes. A sum of 410 De La Salle University Manila students of various ages, genders, and year levels answered a survey comprised of scales that measures the factors aforementioned. Chi-square analyses and descriptive statistics analyses performed to observe the current stance of the students’ eating habits and eating attitudes. Second, two hierarchical multiple regression analysis was run to find the correlations among the different factors and find the significant predictors of the eating habits and attitudes of the students. The results concluded with educational stress as the main predictor of both the eating habits and eating attitudes of students, perceived social support from the family and loneliness respectively.

Background: The changeover from high school to university is characterized by the inability to make informed food choices and unhealthy eating habits. This study sets out to determine the prevalence of overweight/obesity, examine variations in dietary habits and assess the relationships between some dietary factors and overweight/ obesity in university students.

The middle-class is not a naturally occurring phenomenon, but one that is created through a range of socio-cultural practices and interactions. It is fast-changing and never easy to conceptualize; many attempts had used objective markers which is an oversimplification of an extremely complicated social class. The goal of this dissertation is to discover subjective markers instead through Food Choices; not the types of food but rather the choices in lifestyle and ‘lived experience’ through food consumption and eating habits. My focus is on the middle-class of Brunei which makes up more than half of the population of the country and yet, has never been examined. It also puts food studies under the microscope because it has never been investigated specifically in the context of Brunei. This research offers a unique method called Narrative Photovoice to uncover the subjective traits and characteristics of this ‘complex’ social class. This study will reveal that the Bruneian middle-class ‘habitus’ is unexplored and suggest that being middle-class is more than just a ‘material aspiration’. The ‘habitus’ bounds a set of attitudes, beliefs and manners which belong to a particular group of people; it is a series of systems which, developed over time and generations, is the ‘milieu’ in which individuals live with a collective (un)consciousness. In fact, it has led me to discover that the Bruneian middle-class experiences multifaceted behaviours, attitudes, and feelings such as nostalgia, longing, deserving, and even guilt via Food Choices. This research will prove that the middle-class certainly exists in Brunei and it is worth presenting them from a subjective perspective.

Rethinking the political workings of habit and habituation, this article suggests, is vital to understanding the logics and possibilities of social change today. Any endeavour to explore habit's affirmative potential, however, must confront its legacies as a colonialist, imperialist and capitalist technology. As a means to explore what it is that differentiates contemporary neoliberal modes of governing through habit from more critical approaches, this article compares contemporary 'nudge' theory and policy, as espoused by the behavioural economist Richard Thaler and the legal scholar Cass Sunstein, with the pragmatist philosophies of habit offered by John Dewey, William James and Shannon Sullivan. While nudge advocates focus on how policy-makers and corporate leaders can intervene in the 'choice archi-tectures' that surround us to outsmart or bypass problematic human tendencies, I argue, pragmatist philosophers appreciate the necessity of collective efforts to develop new and flexible forms of habituation in order to engender more enduring and democratic forms of social transformation.

Down syndrome, which is one of the most common chromosal disorders, is caused by an extra chromosome in the 21st chromosome pair of people as a result of genetic irregularity. The attitudes of individuals with Down syndrome towards nutritional behavior were examined and interview technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in this study. 20 individuals with a diagnosis of Down syndrome between the ages of 14-36, who live in the city of Denizli and who have the capacity to answer the questions asked to them, participated in the study. 80% of the individuals included in the research have above normal body mass index, 65% are in the category of slightly fat and 15% are in the category of fat. When the findings related to the nutritional habits of individuals were examined, it was seen that 85% of the individuals had 3 meals, 10% of the individuals had 5 meals and 5% of the individuals had 4 meals. This shows that none of the individuals skipped meals. When the participants were asked, "Are you trying not to eat some foods because they cause you to gain weight?" All of the responses from the participants were "No, I cannot give up, because I love to eat". This situation supports the fact that individuals included in the research could not control their weight. This result shows that the individuals included in the research do not have the knowledge that obesity may threaten their health. For this reason, it is essential to educate these individuals about nutrition. Nutrition education should be given both to individuals with down syndrome and their parents.

Celem badania było przeprowadzenie segmentacji konsumentów usług gastronomicznych oraz sprawdzenie, czy istnieje związek między zachowaniami w zakresie korzystania z usług gastronomicznych oraz zachowaniami żywieniowymi zidentyfikowanymi i za pomocą narzędzia FRL (Food-Related Lifestyles). Badanie
przeprowadzono metodą wywiadu bezpośredniego oraz, uzupełniająco, za pomocą ankiety on-line. W badaniu wzięło udział 948 osób reprezentujących wszystkie grupy społeczno-demograficzne. W wyniku analiz otwierdzono, że zachowania w zakresie korzystania z usług gastronomicznych mają związek z ogólnymi zwyczajami żywieniowymi. Potwierdzono również, że dane pozyskane za pomocą FRL mogą być użyteczne nie tylko w zakresie segmentacji nabywców żywności, ale także przy analizie innych zachowań związanych z żywieniem – w tym wypadku z usługami gastronomicznymi.
The purpose of the research was to conduct food services’ consumer segmentation
and to study the relationship between dining out preferences and behaviours
and eating behaviours identified by using FRL (Food-Related Lifestyles). The study
was conducted through direct interviews and, supplementary, through on-line surveys.
The study involved 948 people representing all socio-demographic groups. The results of the study confirmed that there is the relationship between dining out preferences and behaviours and the general eating habits. It was also confirmed that the data collected by FRL may be useful not only in terms of food consumer segmentation, but also in an analysis of other food-related behaviours - in the current study the dining out ehaviours were successfully analysed.

The purpose of this study is to utilize multiple case study to investigate the challenges
of healthy eating habits in rural communities in Arkansas, and to identify the differences between these communities (Community A and B) that could be associated with overweight and
obese children. The findings suggested that healthy eating habits required a conscientious effort
on the part of the parents and/or guardians in urging the children to eat healthy. Parents and/
or guardians also needed to show good examples of healthy eating behaviors at home. In addition, community leaders should be thinking of some modalities to enhance the food choices
or provide healthier choices in their community events and support underprivileged families to
help secure healthy food choices. This study also highlighted the importance of food corps and
health coalition group in the curtailment of overweight and obese children in rural communities.

Introducción: La obesidad severa es un problema de
salud que tiene consecuencias médicas, emocionales y
socioeconómicas. La etiología de la obesidad severa es
multifactorial; no obstante, se sabe que los hábitos de
alimentación representan un factor importante en su desarrollo.
Objetivo: Este estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar
los patrones de ingesta y los hábitos alimentarios
específicos que es necesario modificar para lograr la
pérdida de peso.
Método: Se llevó a cabo un estudio observacional-
descriptivo, prolectivo y transversal con 250 pacientes
candidatos a cirugía bariátrica, 79.2% mujeres
y 20.8% hombres con una edad de 37.7 ± 10.2 años y un
IMC 44.3 ± 7.7 kg/m2.
Resultados: Se encontró que “tomar agua”, “comer
más rápido que la mayoría que las personas”, “dejar
el plato vacío”, “tener ayunos prolongados”, “antojos
dulces” y “tomar refresco” fueron los hábitos más frecuentes
en pacientes con obesidad severa. También se
examinó la existencia de diferencias significativas entre
los hábitos de los hombres y las mujeres y por estratos
o grupos de IMC. Se identificó que “picar alimentos”
y “comer hasta sentirse incómodo” fueron significativamente
distintos entre sexos y “comer solo por sentir
pena con los demás” fue significativo entre estratos de
IMC.
Discusión: Se concluyó que es importante que el tratamiento
de estos pacientes incluya técnicas de evaluación
y modificación de conductas encaminadas a estos
hábitos, así mismo se recomienda incluir en futuros estudios
pacientes con peso normal y sobrepeso, así como
el uso de instrumentos con propiedades psicométricas
adecuadas.

RESUMEN Introducción y objetivo: la diabetes tipo II constituye uno de los problemas de salud pública. Una mejor compresión de los factores asociados al estado nutricional y el perfil lipí-dico, puede disminuir la carga de la enfermedad. Se deter-minó relación entre hábitos alimentarios, el estado nutricional y el perfil lipídico en pacientes con diabetes tipo II. Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio descriptivo correlacional en 85 pacientes diabéticos. Se utilizó el Cuestionario de Hábitos Alimentarios de los Institutos Nacionales de Salud de Estados Unidos para evaluar los hábi-tos dietéticos. Se midieron peso y talla y se calcularon el in-cide de masa corporal (IMC) y porcentaje de grasa corporal (%GC). Además, se evaluaron el perfil lipídico y las concen-traciones de hemoglobina glucosilada (HbA1c), lipoproteína de baja densidad (LDL), lipoproteínas de alta densidad (HDL), colesterol total (Col-total) y triglicéridos (TG). Resultados: el 88% de los participantes presentaron há-bitos alimentarios inadecuados. Los valores del IMC y %GC estuvieron elevados. Se evidenciaron concentraciones eleva-das de Col-total en los varones. Los niveles de HDL y LDL fue-ron normales. Las concentraciones de HbA1c fueron elevadas. Se encontró correlación entre los hábitos alimentarios con el IMC, Col-total y los TG (rho=-0.224; p=0.039), (rho=-0.270, p=0.013) y (rho=-0.230, p=0.034), respectivamente. No se observó correlación entre los hábitos alimentarios y el %GC, el HDL, LDL y HbA1c. Se encontró que el IMC está asociado con el HDL y el nivel de HbA1c (rho=-0.218, p= 0.045) y (rho= 0.32, p= 0.002), respectivamente. No hubo relación entre el %GC y el perfil lipídico. Conclusión: los resultados demostraron niveles elevados de IMC, %GC, Col-total y HbA1c. Además, los hábitos ali-mentarios inadecuados y el aumento del IMC se asociaron con el perfil lipídico. Estos resultados sugieren la importancia clínica de estos indicadores en la predicción, prevención y control de la diabetes tipo II. ABSTRACT Introduction and objective: type II diabetes constitutes one of the public health problems. A better understanding of the factors associated with nutritional status and lipid profile can decrease the burden of this disease. Relationship between eating habits, nutritional status and lipid profile was determined in patients with type II diabetes.

Down syndrome, which is one of the most common chromosal disorders, is caused by an extra chromosome in the 21st chromosome pair of people as a result of genetic irregularity. The attitudes of individuals with Down syndrome towards nutritional behavior were examined and interview technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in this study. 20 individuals with a diagnosis of Down syndrome between the ages of 14-36, who live in the city of Denizli and who have the capacity to answer the questions asked to them, participated in the study. 80% of the individuals included in the research have above normal body mass index, 65% are in the category of slightly fat and 15% are in the category of fat. When the findings related to the nutritional habits of individuals were examined, it was seen that 85% of the individuals had 3 meals, 10% of the individuals had 5 meals and 5% of the individuals had 4 meals. This shows that none of the individuals skipped meals. When the particip...

The Atrium House of Aguntum resembles an Italian House Type, which is – with its open roof – not very suitable for the alpine region. Several adaptations of the building can be recognized, including the creation of a heating system. During these building activities, a former cellar (room 216) was filled with kitchen residues and demolition waste. The pottery assemblage, as well as the animal bones found in this cellar point to kitchen residues, which allow a partial reconstruction of cooking and eating habits in the Atrium House during the period around 100 A.D. While the animal bones and most of the vessels for on-site storage and food preparation, are of local / regional origin, cooking vessels – together with amphorae – are imported from the Mediterranean. Therefore, the kitchen residues do not allow an assignment to local Norican or Italian-Mediterranean cooking and eating habits, but are rather reflecting a mélange of both.

SARS-CoV-2 which is the causative agent of COVID-19 is a single-stranded RNA virus, commonly spread by respiratory droplets and human-to-human contact. The COVID-19 pandemic has compromised the eating habits of individuals making them vulnerable to food insecurity and triggering eating disorders in individuals at risk of these disorders causing severity or relapse. Extreme quarantine measures because of the COVID-19 pandemic have also contributed to the increase in the severity of eating disorders and altered eating habits. Thus, we review the implications of COVID-19 on eating habits. This study would serve as a foundation for further research on Covid-19 and its implications on healthy eating habits.

Down syndrome, which is one of the most common chromosal disorders, is caused by an extra chromosome in the 21st chromosome pair of people as a result of genetic irregularity. The attitudes of individuals with Down syndrome towards nutritional behavior were examined and interview technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in this study. 20 individuals with a diagnosis of Down syndrome between the ages of 14-36, who live in the city of Denizli and who have the capacity to answer the questions asked to them, participated in the study. 80% of the individuals included in the research have above normal body mass index, 65% are in the category of slightly fat and 15% are in the category of fat. When the findings related to the nutritional habits of individuals were examined, it was seen that 85% of the individuals had 3 meals, 10% of the individuals had 5 meals and 5% of the individuals had 4 meals. This shows that none of the individuals skipped meals. When the particip...

Rizolatti’nin beyinde ayna nöronları keşfinden bu yana, empati ya da eş duyum dediğimiz şeyin nöral temellerini biliyoruz [1-2]. O günden bugüne empatinin beyinsel temelleri ve ayna mekanizmaları konusundaki bilgimiz artıyor. Empatiyi iki boyutta düşünmek mümkün: 1. Duygusal Empati, yani “Karşısındakinin duygularını anlayabilme”, 2.  başkasının bakış açısından bakabilme, yani “Kişinin kendisini karşısındaki kişinin yerine koyarak olaylara onun bakış açısıyla bakması, o kişinin duygularını ve düşüncelerini doğru olarak anlamasıdır.  Ventromedial prefrontal kortekste konuşlanan bu üst düzey empati sistemine de “Zihin Kuramı” adı verilir [3]. Çalışmanın bakış açısı Zihin Kuramı olacaktır çünkü yapılan çalışmanın değişkenlerinden birisi olan empatiyi en bilimsel kanıtlarla işleyen kuramdır.  Beslenme insan hayatının devam ettirilmesi adına önemli bir ihtiyaçtır. Beslenmenin birçok çeşidi vardır. Vegan, pesketaryen, ketojenik, paleo, çiğ beslenme ve vejetaryenlik örnek gösterilebilir.  Bu araştırmaya konu olan beslenme çeşidi vejetaryen beslenmedir. Vejeteryan beslenme çok yaygın olmamakla birlikte günümüzde tercih edilebilmektedir. Vejetaryen beslenmenin altında yatan bağımsız sebepler tek başına veya birlikte olabilir. Genel bir bakış açısıyla vejetaryen beslenmenin temelinde sağlık ve etik motivasyonlar yatmaktadır. Vejetaryen beslenmede araştırdığımız empati bir çok psikolojik ve sosyal kavramı barındırmaktadır. Örneğin: Dini inanç, yeterli beslenmedeki eşitsizlik/açlık durumları, ete karşı tat kaçınması, evrensel ve sosyal bakış açısı vb. durumlardır. Örneğin dini inanç açısından eski Mısır’ın din adamları asla et yemezler, Hindistan’da, Buda da öğrencilerini et yememe konusunda uyarırmış. Taocu ermişler gibi, ilk Hıristiyan ve Yahudiler de vejetaryen beslenirlerdi. Bizim çalışmamızın barındırdığı amaç ise Türkiye’de vejetaryen beslenme fikrinin arkasında yatan evrensel ve sosyal normların insanda uyandırdığı duygudaşlık düşüncesi ve bu düşüncenin nüksettirdiği duygular olacaktır. Dünyada deneyimsel olarak empati düşüncesini uyandıracak bir çok olay ve olgular yaşanmıştır. Bazı insanlar hayvanlara ve çeşitli nesnelere duygu, biliş gibi insan nitelikleri atfetmektedirler. Buna antropomorfizm (insan biçimcilik) denilmektedir [4]. Bazı yazarlara göre hayvanları insansı-insana benzer olarak görmek empati ve hayvanı koruma duygusu uyandırmaktadır. Bu kişiler vejetaryen ve vegan tutumları daha çok desteklemektedirler. Vegan ve/veya vejetaryen tutumların oluşmasında bunlara benzer birçok faktör rol oynamaktadır. Bunların yanı sıra vejetaryenlik kendi içerisinde farklı alanlara ayrılmaktadır . Bunun sebebi ise yine normların farklılığından dolayı veya tat kaçınmasıdır. Lakto vejetaryen, ovo vejetaryen, lakto-ovo vejetaryen vb. gibi bir çok beslenme çeşidi söz konusudur.                            Bu çalışmada vejetaryen beslenmede empatinin payının ne derecede yüksek olduğu açıklığa kavuşturulacaktır. Günümüze kadar hızla artan endüstriyel hayvancılığın ortaya koyduğu sonuçlar, insanlığın diğer canlılarla  bulunduğu olumsuz etkileşimler veya kendi zihninde düşüncelerinin şekillendirmesi empatiye  yol açmıştır. Bu çalışmada hem empatinin rolünün ne olduğu hem de bu rolün ne derece etkili olduğunu incelenecektir.

[AMAZON LINK BELOW TO BOOK ITSELF -- TOC and book summary in downloadable .pdf] 

In the modern jungle of burgers, couches, and remote controls, obesity is an enormous and growing epidemic. Weight-loss books and diet gurus urge us to "listen to our bodies," but our instincts are designed for the African savannah, not food courts. The sugary and fatty foods that we, as hunter-gatherers, are programmed to forage used to be hard to come by. Now they're as close as the vending machine down the hall.

Radical changes are necessary and, fortunately, are biologically easier than small or gradual changes in diet. Barrett tells us how to reprogram our bodies, break food addictions, and ignore our attraction to "supernormal stimuli"—artificial creations that appeal to our instincts more than the natural objects they mimic. Barrett delves into scientific research—from animal ethology to evolution—to show the disastrous direction in which our instincts have led us, and how, using our intellect, we can get back on course.  . . . . . . . .An elegantly written and eye-opening analysis of what makes us fat. -- Steven Pinker, PhD, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works
. . . . . . .
In this cogent, clearly argued, and thought-provoking book, Barrett shows how we are paying the price for our own plenty. -- David Spiegel, M.D. Medical Director, Center for Integrative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine; author of Living Beyond Limits
. . . . . . . .
Offers us a way to understand the pandemic of obesity that we find ourselves in. -- John Ratey, M.D. Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School, co-author of Driven to Distraction

The increased prevalence of unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles among Malaysian adolescents has become a public health concern. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize evidence from observational studies related to diet and physical activity (PA) among Malaysian adolescents (13–18 years) and to recognize the associations between determinants of diet and PA and diet and PA behaviours. A systematic search for observational studies published from August 1990 through August 2017 was conducted via PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane and Web of Science. A total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria; these were independently extracted by two reviewers. Gender and ethnicity were the most commonly studied correlates of diet and PA; males were more physically active and they tended to have poorer diet quality and higher energy and macronutrient intakes in comparison to females; Malay adolescents had a lower diet quality and Chinese adolescents spent less time in PA com...

This investigation sought to gain an understanding of how youth perceive neighborhood environmental influences on their physical activity and eating behaviors. This qualitative study targeted a heterogeneous sample of 12- to 14-year-olds in London, Ontario, Canada. Using a semi-structured interview guide, we conducted nine focus groups (n = 60) and used inductive content analysis to investigate their discussions. Most participants discussed their school, parks, and opportunity structures around their homes as influencing their physical activity, and overwhelmingly reported the availability of fast-food  restaurants, convenience stores, and slow-food restaurants in their neighborhoods as influencing their eating practices. The descriptive information collected through this study is potentially significant for the efforts of city planners, policy makers, health professionals, school officials, and parents to promote and support healthier youth behaviors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of life, especially daily physical activity and healthy eating habits but also mental health. Our study aimed to examine the relationship between the physical activity level, eating habits and mental health of Serbian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 3506 students from the territory of the Republic of Serbia participated in this study. IPAQ-short version and HBSC-FFQ were used to assess physical activity level and eating habits, along with self-rated health. Moderate correlations were identified between physical activity, eating habits and mental health, along with average physical activity, very high life satisfaction (β = 0.177, p < 0.01) and very low emotional distress (β = −0.150, p < 0.01). A significant predictor of mental health was the frequency of breakfast on weekdays (β = 0.167, p < 0.01 for life satisfaction and β = −0.153, p < 0.01 for emotional distress), but not on weekends. Since t...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between adolescents with a high or low risk of developing an eating disorder (ED) in different health behaviors (eating habits, physical activity and the consumption of substances) per gender. The EAT-40 and the Inventory of Behavioral Health in Scholars were applied to 2142 middle school students from Alicante (Spain), of whom 52.8% were girls and 47.2% were boys, with an average age of 13.92 years old (Sd = 1.34). Results indicated that girls with a high risk of developing an ED consumed fewer meals, ate fewer unhealthy foods, followed more diets and paid more attention to nutritional components. Furthermore, they also performed more physical activity with the objective of losing weight, and consumed more tobacco, alcohol and medicines. Boys at high risk of developing an ED followed more diets and paid more attention to nutritional components. For boys, no more differences were found. These results suggest that any program dire...