Research report Eating disturbances among adolescent schoolgirls in Jordan Tamara Yousef Mousa a, *, Hayder Abdullah Al-Domi b , Rima Hussein Mashal b , Musa Abdel-Khaleq Jibril c a Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Jordan, Amman 11196, P.O. Box 960364, Jordan b Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan c Department of Counselling and Special Education, University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan Introduction Several studies have indicated that young females and adolescent girls are often experiencing eating disturbances associated with weight concerns, particularly in Western and developed countries (Al-Subaie et al., 1996; Ho, Tai, Lee, Cheng, & Liow, 2006; Jones, Bennett, Olmsted, Lawson, & Rodin, 2001; Nobakht & Dezhkam, 2000). This pursuit for thinness is explained by the perception of female beauty with extreme thinness (Sweeting & West, 2002). According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA, 2000), eating disorders (ED) are characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior of the individual intended to control body weight and accompanied by distorted body image. Further, ED are diagnosed by the criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition-text revision (DSM-IV-TR) and include two specific types: anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) (APA, 2000). Eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) and binge eating disorder (BED) categories are provided to code for disorders that do not meet full criteria for a specific ED (APA, 2000). Eating disorders became the third leading chronic illness among adolescent girls in the United States and other developed countries (World Health Organization [WHO], 2005) such as Canada (Jones et al., 2001) and Norway (Go ¨ testam & Agras, 1995). Although it has been argued that ED are rare in non-Western communities in which plumpness is not stigmatized (Shuriquie, 1999), ED were documented in developing and Arab countries (Al- Subaie et al., 1996). For instance, the lifetime prevalence of AN and BN has been 0.9% and 3.2%, respectively among adolescent girls in Iran (Nobakht & Dezhkam, 2000). Similarly, a study has addressed the occurrence of ED in Saudi adolescent girls and stated that 19.6% of the girls had abnormal eating attitudes and 0.8% had AN (Al- Subaie et al., 1996). Approximately, 10% of normal weight female college students in Lebanon have desired to be thin, preoccupied with weight, taken laxatives and diet pills, engaged in strenuous exercise, avoided high caloric foods, fasted, binged and skipped meals (Afifi-Soweid, Kteily, & Shediac-Rizkallah, 2002). In the Western society, being thin (the ideal of beauty) is highly rated because it symbolizes certain notions such as social acceptance and success. Nonetheless, non-Western populations including Arabs have been found to place value on plumpness; a sign of beauty, fertility and good health (Shuriquie, 1999). Jordan is a lower middle-income non-Western Arabic country that has undergone considerable social developmental changes associated with certain cultural changes that have affected the Jordanian cultural norms, particularly, those who live in Amman, the capital city which is the most urbanized city in Jordan (Alwan & Kharabsheh, 2006; Ministry of Environment, 2006). The cultural changes have lead to a wide spread adoption of Western styles, habits and attitudes. These changes included a shift in the lifestyle from active to sedentary, and in the eating patterns from Appetite 54 (2010) 196–201 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 4 May 2009 Received in revised form 7 October 2009 Accepted 30 October 2009 Keywords: Eating disorders Adolescent schoolgirls Jordan ABSTRACT Objectives: Several studies indicated that the prevalence of eating disorders has increased among adolescent girls. The aim of the present study, therefore, is to investigate the occurrence and correlates of eating disorders among adolescent girls in Amman, Jordan. Method: A sample of 432 adolescent girls aged 10–16 years were recruited from public and private schools in Amman. Information was collected from adolescent schoolgirls through a socio-demographic data sheet, eating attitude test, body shape and eating habits questionnaires. Results: One third of participants had eating disorders, including bulimia nervosa (0.6%), binge eating disorder (1.8%) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (31%), however no anorexic cases were found. Findings also suggested that pubertal, familial and social variables were associated with eating disorders occurrence. Conclusion: Eating disturbances were prevalent among the present population sample. Participants have been more preoccupied with their body weight due to socio-cultural norms that are reinforced by media messages. Further research is needed to develop intervention programs to control eating disorders occurrence in Jordan. ß 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: mousa_tamara@yahoo.com (T.Y. Mousa), h.aldomi@ju.edu.jo (H.A. Al-Domi), rima@ju.edu.jo (R.H. Mashal), jibrilm@ju.edu.jo (M.-K. Jibril). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Appetite journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/appet 0195-6663/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2009.10.008