Assessment of the relation between nutritional status andeating attitudes among adult women with different body mass index levels

This study was conducted on evaluating the relation between nutritional status and eating attitudes in 155 women with different body mass index levels aged from 19 to 64 who admitted to a family health center in Ankara. The general characteristics, eating habits, physical acitivity habits and anthropometric measurements of the individuals were examined. Food diary forms and food frequency questionnaires were used. Additionally, eating attitudes test scores were calculated to determine eating attitudes and behaviours. The results were examined according to three body mass index levels, including participants for each BMI levels homogeneously. In this study; 61.6% of underweight and normal weight women were at the age range from 19 to 34, 64.7% of overweight women and 77.0% of obese women were at the age range from 45 to 64 (p<0.05). The mean of education period was 13.7±3.36 years for underweight and normal weight women, 11.5±4.31 years for overweight women and 8.0±3.85 years for obese women (p<0.05). At the point of sadness, rage and stress; increased appetite was seen significantly in obese individuals compared with the others (p<0.05). The mean EAT-40 scores for underweight and normal weight women were 16.8±8.59; 19.7±8.35 for overweight women and 22.8±8.8 for obese women. To prevent obesity and obesity-related diseases, it's recommended to gain healty life styles to individuals by nutritional education.