Riesgo de trastornos de conducta alimentaria en adolescentes de 14 a 18 años del Colegio de Bachillerato Ciudad de Cuenca en el período septiembre 2023- febrero 2024

Abstract

Mental illnesses that impact food intake and well-being are called eating disorders. Anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder are the most well-known. They can have major medical and psychological repercussions and are typified by excessive worry about weight and physical appearance. Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to these problems because they are going through a developmental stage where many changes take place on the social, psychological, and physical levels. It is possible to stop eating disorders from developing by keeping an eye out for and responding to behavioral changes in eating, fixation with losing weight, and other pertinent factors. Thus, the objective of this research was to describe the risk of eating disorders in adolescents aged 14 to 18 from Ciudad de Cuenca High School during the period of September 2023 to February 2024. A quantitative, cross-sectional, not experimental, descriptive methodology was used to perform this study. 204 teenagers were chosen for the sample using probabilistic sampling. The Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-2) and a sociodemographic questionnaire were utilized to collect data, and SPSS v.25 was used to analyze the findings. Results showed that the risk of eating disorders among teenagers is 65.7%. Ages between 14 and 16 years old, normal BMI, female gender, and living in an urban region were associated with a higher proportion of risk. Among teenagers at risk, the aspects with the highest percentage were fear of maturity, impulsivity, and interoceptive awareness. Furthermore, based on the dimension, mean scores showed lower values, suggesting a lesser risk of eating disorders.