Mental health impairment associated with eating-disorder features in a community sample of women

BACKGROUND AND AIMS:  Impairment in mental health associated with eating-disorder features was examined in a large, general population sample of women aged 18 to 42 years.

METHOD:  Participants (n = 5255) completed self-report measures of eating-disordered behaviour, mental health functioning, height and weight and socio-demographic information.

RESULTS: The most common eating-disorder features were extreme concerns about weight or shape (14.6%), subjective overeating (12.7%), objective overeating (10.6%) and extreme concerns about dietary intake (10.4%). In multivariable analysis, in which mental health functioning was regressed on eating-disorder features, while also controlling for age and body weight, objective overeating (β  =  -0.07), subjective overeating (β   = -0.07), extreme dietary restriction (β  =  -0.06) and extreme concerns about eating (β  =  -0.04) showed small, but statistically significant associations with mental health impairment, whereas extreme weight or shape concerns showed a very strong association (β  =  -0.24).

CONCLUSIONS: From a clinical perspective, the findings are consistent with the importance attached to the "over-evaluation" of weight or shape as a core component of eating-disorder psychopathology. From a public health perspective, the findings indicate the need to conceive of body dissatisfaction as a target for health promotion in its own right.