Investigating Prevalence of Disordered Eating and its Association to Risky Sexual Behaviour, in Filipino University Students

Abstract

Eating disorders (ED) are a serious illness that can have detrimental effects on a individuals psychosocial functioning. Though the aetiology still remains unclear, there have been various investigations examining the association between ED and impulsivity in terms of maladaptive behaviours, such as substance abuse and risky sexual behaviours. Unfortunately, most of the existing research on this topic are based on western population samples. Therefore, the objective of this investigation is to determine the prevalence of disordered eating and examine the association of disordered eating behaviour, specifically the binge purge type, and risky sexual behaviour (RSB), within a non-western population sample (Philippines). 246 students from various universities completed both the eating attitudes questionnaire (EAT-26) and the Sexual Risk Survey (SRS). Results demonstrate a prevalence of 56.3% scoring above the cut-off point of 20, indicative of serious disturbances in eating behaviours or attitudes, and warrants further evaluation by a qualified professional. A weak positive correlation was found between disordered binge-purge behaviour and RSB (r = .241, p < 0.001). The findings exhibit that prevalence of disordered eating are higher than that of western results. These findings further support western literature demonstrating the co-occurrence of disordered eating and impulsivity.