Incidence of potential disordered eating throughout the continuum of dietetics education and practice

Abstract

Researchers have indicated that nutrition students constitute a subgroup of the university population at a higher risk of developing eating disorders. Individuals may be drawn to study nutrition because of pre-existing food-related problems, or problems may arise once individuals enter the field due to peer pressure. The purpose of this research was to determine the period of education at which nutrition students and professionals exhibit the greatest incidence of potential disordered eating.

The sample consisted of female, undergraduate students majoring in nutrition and accounting (control group); and registered dietitians. Student groups were subdivided into underclassmen and upperclassmen. A survey packet containing the Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2) and a behavior questionnaire were mailed to all subjects.

Lifetime and current incidence of dieting, binge eating and self-induced vomiting were similar between the groups. Dietitians were least likely to feel peer pressure to be thin (p<.004) and expressed less weight concern (p<.001) than the student groups. Underclassmen exhibited the highest degree of drive for thinness, which differed from dietitians (p<.004) but was similar to upperclassmen nutrition students. Overall, EDI subscale scores for all groups were comparable to the normative data for college-age women. As a whole, nutrition students exercised more frequently than dietitians or accounting students (p<.004). The motivation behind this activity needs further examination. The field of nutrition does not seem to attract students with a greater predisposition towards eating disorders, nor does peer pressure within the field appear to be prevalent.