International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition, 2018, 7, 115-121 115 E-ISSN: 1929-4247/18 © 2018 Lifescience Global Prevalence of Eating Disorders among Female College Students of Northern Broader University, Arar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Waseem Fatima 1,* , Rizwan Fatima 2 and Nida Suhail Anwar 3 1 Department of Clinical Nutrition, Northern Border University, Arar KSA 2 Department of Education, Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi, India 3 Department of Medical Lab Technology, Northern Border University, Arar KSA Abstract: Objective: The study aimed at examining the prevalence and correlates of eating disorder among female college students of Northern Broader University, Arar city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted among female college students. The total sample size was 160 (66.66% of total population of college) and stratified random sampling technique was used to select female students age ranged between 18 and 23 years from faculty of medical and faculty of applied medical science. Subjects were ask to fill pre tested questionnaire about socioeconomic status, age at menarche, body image and Eating attitude test 26 (EAT 26), there height and weight were measured and BMI was calculated. Results: Out of 160 female college students only 120 (75%) returned completely filled questionnaires and they were considered for statistical analysis. It was found that, 32 (26.66%) of study population scored 20 or above, which is the cutoff point of EAT-26, indicating negative eating attitudes. There was significant difference found in prevalence of disordered eating attitudes in different BMI ranges. However, the association between student’s age at menarche and abnormal eating attitude was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The findings support our hypothesis of a relatively high rate of abnormal eating attitudes (as reflected by high EAT-26 score) in this population. The results have important implication for increasing awareness about an emerging clinical problem. The prevalence of eating disorder is the most useful measure for planning health care facilities, as it indicates the demand for care. Keywords: Eating disorders, EAT -26, BMI, age at menarche, Female students. INTRODUCTION Eating disorders (ED) are one of the most common psychiatric problems, have the highest mortality rates of all mental disorders, and rank tenth among leading cause of disability among young females [1, 2]. These disorders characterized by chronicity and relapse along with disordered eating behavior where the patient’s attitude towards weight and shape, as well as their perception of body shape, are disturbed [2]. Anorexia and Bulimia nervosa are the extreme sides of a broad range of disordered eating, which includes frequent dieting, binge eating and partial syndromes [3]. Although eating disorders were originally believed to occur mainly in affluent Western countries [4]. However, epidemiological data indicate eating disorders increasing dramatically worldwide in past two decades and occur across all ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic groups [5] and the most vulnerable group for anorexia nervosa comprised girls and young women aged 15 to 24 years [6, 7]. Females students are more concern about their body weight and shape *Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Clinical Nutrition, Northern Border University, Arar KSA; E-mail: fatimawaseem1512@gmail.com, waseem.fatime@nbu.edu.sa than males, and it may lead to disturbed eating and unhealthy weight control behavior such as starvation, fasting, frequently skipping meals, overeating and binge-eating followed by purging, also using of diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics and excessive exercising [8, 9]. Furthermore, eating pathology increases the risk for onset of obesity, substance abuse, deficiency diseases, anxiety disorder, cardiovascular symptoms, chronic fatigue and pain, depressive disorder, infectious diseases, insomnia, neurological symptoms, and suicidal attempts in their early adulthood [9]. Social and cultural variables, economic status, westernized weight loosing programs of the media and peer pressure also influence their eating behavior and give rise to many eating disorders among female students [10]. Many Arab countries, however, have recently undergone rapid social and economic changes, leading to a wide spread adoption of Western styles, habits and attitudes, mainly in young generation [11-14]. There is high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Arab population females [15] which, coupled with rapid socio-cultural changes puts them at risk for eating disorders [11, 16]. Recently, high prevalence of abnormal Eating attitude and behaviors is confirmed by nonclinical studies (scored >20, Eating Attitude Test (EAT 26) cutoff score for clinical significance) in several