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Eating-disordered behavior in Australian and Singaporean women: a comparative study
Objective and Method: We used the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) to compare the specific eating disorder psychopathology of young adult women in Australia (n 5 339) and Singapore (n 5 164). All participants completed a brief questionnaire that included the EDE-Q, basic sociodemographic information, and selfreported height and weight.
Results: Overall levels of eating disorder psychopathology, as measured by the EDE-Q global score, were very similar. There were also no differences between groups on the EDE-Q subscales. However, analysis at the item level indicated that Singaporean women were more fearful of losing control over their eating, more fearful of gaining weight or becoming fat, and more anxious at the prospect of regularly weighing themselves, than Australian women. Singaporean women were also more likely to report binge eating and laxative misuse, whereas excessive exercise was more common among Australian women. The findings were unaltered when between-group differences in body weight were statistically controlled.
Discussion: The findings provide further evidence that levels of eating disorder psychopathology in some Asian countries may be as high as, if not higher than, those of Western nations. Potentially important differences between different cultural groups may be obscured when the assessment of eating disorder psychopathology is con- fined to summary-type measures.
History
Publication title
The International journal of eating disordersVolume
43Issue
8Pagination
717-723ISSN
0276-3478Department/School
School of Health SciencesPublisher
John Wiley & Sons IncPlace of publication
United StatesRights statement
Copyright 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Repository Status
- Restricted