Relación entre el índice de masa corporal para la edad y el riesgo de padecer un trastorno de la conducta alimentaria en mujeres adolescentes

Abstract

Adolescence is a stage of vulnerability to risk of Eating Disorder (ED) and physiological, psychological and social changes are often associated factors. Eating Disorders are more prevalent in women because they are a group that puts weight, nutritional status, and body image in controversy. The lack of information in Ecuador on this problem has served as a starting point to carry out this research project to relate the body mass index for age (BMI/Age) and the risk of suffering an eating disorder in adolescent women. This is a correlational study with a quantita tive, non-experimental, cross-sectional, and descriptive approach, in which 106 young students from an educational unit in Zone 3 were included, to whom an intrafamilial relationship survey, the SCOFF test and the collection of anthropometric data (weight, height) were applied. Of the total sample studied, it was found that normal nutritional status prevails (60.4%), overweight (27.4%) and obesity (11.3%), 65.1% present a risk of suffering an ED in relation to their nutritional status according to BMI/Age a nd that these variables also present a highly significant difference (Px < 0.05), finally it was determined that communication between caregivers or parents and adolescents, and, the risk of suffering an ED has a highly significant difference (Px < 0.05). It was demonstrated that the Body Mass Index for age has a relationship with the risk of an adolescent woman suffering an ED, and that there are factors linked to its development, such as communication between parents or caregivers and young women.