Assessing the Major Dietary Patterns and Their Relation with Eating Disorders in Female Adolescents of Tehran

Eating disorders are known as obesity related syndromes، which can affect the nutritional status of individuals dramatically. The present study was conducted to determine major dietary patterns among female students with eating disorders and some of their related factors.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 515 female high school students in Tehran (231 sample with eating disorder). All participants fulfilled demographic، a modified version of the Body Shape Satisfaction Scale (BSSS) and semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires. Dietary patterns were defined by using factor analysis. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation was used to extract independent dietary patterns، and three interpretable factors were obtained. OR and 95% CI for eating disorders (dependent variable) in relation to each dietary pattern (independent variable) were calculated using logistic regression in the three models by adjusting for the effects of confounding variables.

Three major dietary patterns were obtained: High carbohydrate-high fat pattern، High proteinp-high fat pattern، and High fiber-low fat pattern. The findings showed that the odds ratio of eating disorder reduced in high protein-high fat diet significantly and after adjustment of confounding factors، this reduction still remained significant. The odds ratio of eating disorder increased in high fiber-low fat dietary pattern significantly in all models. None of the demographic characteristics، weight، or body satisfaction showed any significant relationship with eating disorders.

It seems that a high fiber–low fat (vegetarian) dietary pattern is related to eating disorders، and adolescents who follow such pattern are more likely to engage in unhealthy weight control behaviors.