Table 3 Symptoms of disturbed eating behavior among children and adolescents by gender and age group
Item | Total sample (%) | Girls | Boys | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11–12 (years) (%) | 13–14 (years) (%) | 15–17 (years) (%) | 11–12 (years) (%) | 13–14 (years) (%) | 15–17 (years) (%) | ||
Eating less during meals | 34.8 | 35.1 | 42.0 | 46.7 | 30.0 | 26.1 | 22.7 |
Skipping meals | 21.8 | 13.9 | 26.8 | 37.4 | 14.2 | 20.5 | 13.0 |
Fasting | 15.3 | 11.3 | 16.6 | 27.7 | 9.0 | 14.2 | 8.3 |
Exercising for weight control | 58.0 | 58.7 | 66.8 | 65.1 | 51.6 | 50.9 | 62.3 |
Self-induced vomiting | 2.8 | 1.3 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 2.3 | 2.4 | .9 |
Taking diet pills or laxatives | 1.7 | .4 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.3 |
Feeling fat | 36.0 | 44.8 | 48.2 | 53.6 | 22.6 | 21.4 | 14.5 |
Terrified of gaining weight | 21.9 | 26.8 | 25.1 | 30.7 | 18.2 | 13.9 | 11.9 |
Avoidance of certain food | 20.6 | 17.9 | 19.9 | 28.2 | 20.7 | 20.2 | 15.1 |
Feeling upset about weight or shape | 36.1 | 38.3 | 41.9 | 51.6 | 24.8 | 27.3 | 24.1 |
Distress after eating | 25.7 | 27.2 | 32.0 | 38.2 | 16.8 | 18.0 | 15.3 |
Episodes of binge eating | 16.0 | 14.3 | 19.0 | 24.9 | 9.1 | 9.5 | 14.3 |
Loss of control over eating | 11.0 | 13.2 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 10.1 |