Meal Patterns and Eating Disorder Profile of Underweight Adolescent Girls in Chennai

Adequate nutrient intake during adolescence is impertinent as it is a time of intense physical, psychological and cognitive development. Achievement of optimum growth during this period is of utmost importance in maintaining good health thereafter. Practicing healthy eating behavior is one of the essential factors to meet the nutritional needs of adolescents. Eating disorders are psychological disturbances characterized by abnormalities in cognition and behaviors regarding food intake and body image. They are often associated with poor self-esteem and feeling of shame. 150 underweight adolescent girls in the age group of 13-17 years whose body mass index was below 18.5 were selected for the study. A structured questionnaire was designed to assess their meal patterns, improper dietary practices, eating disorders and activity patterns of adolescents. The results revealed that 54.7 percent of the subjects were non-vegetarians and 68.7 percent of them were consuming less than 3 meals per day. Skipping of meals was followed by 84 percent of the adolescents. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa were found to be present among the underweight adolescents with attributes like weight conscious behavior, eating to escape from worries, habit of induced vomiting predominated their inclination towards the maintenance of body weight. Physical activity patterns showed that 53.3 percent neglected walking and 76 percent did not have the habit of cycling.