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Prevalence of eating disorders and weight control practices in Germany in 1990 and 1997
Author(s) -
Westenhoefer Joachim
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.1045
Subject(s) - eating disorders , psychology , weight control , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , gerontology , psychiatry , medicine , obesity , endocrinology
Objective To investigate whether the prevalence of bulimic behaviors and weight control practices changed between 1990 and 1997. Method In November 1997, we surveyed a representative sample of 2,130 adult subjects in West Germany and 2,155 subjects in East Germany. We asked subjects about binge eating, vomiting, use of laxatives, appetite suppressants and diuretics, and about dieting, weighing, and exercise. As the same questions had been used in a representative survey (N = 1,773) in autumn 1990 in West Germany, trend comparisons for prevalence between 1990 and 1997 are possible. Results The prevalence of severe eating binges twice a week dropped nonsignificantly between 1997 and 1990 from 3.1% to 2.4% in men and from 2.3% to 1.3% in women. In men, the prevalence of binge eating disorder dropped nonsignificantly from 2.4% to 1.5%, the prevalence of bulimia nervosa from 2.1% to 1.1%. In women, the prevalence of binge eating disorder dropped nonsignificantly from 1.5% to 0.7% and that of bulimia nervosa from 2.4% to 1.1%. Conclusion The prevalence of bulimic behaviors decreased slightly during 1990 and 1997 in the West German population. © 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 29: 477–481, 2001.