Research Article

The prevalence of eating pathology and its relationship to knowledge of eating disorders among high school girls in Japan

  1. Aya Nishizono-Maher1,*,
  2. Yuko Miyake2,
  3. Akira Nakane1

Article first published online: 17 FEB 2004

DOI: 10.1002/erv.558

Issue

European Eating Disorders Review

European Eating Disorders Review

Volume 12, Issue 2, pages 122–128, March/April 2004

Additional Information

How to Cite

Nishizono-Maher, A., Miyake, Y. and Nakane, A. (2004), The prevalence of eating pathology and its relationship to knowledge of eating disorders among high school girls in Japan. European Eating Disorders Review, 12: 122–128. doi: 10.1002/erv.558

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan

  2. 2

    Section of Mental Health Statistics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry, Chiba, Japan

*Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry, 2-1-8 Kamikitazawa, Setagaya-ku, 156-8585, Tokyo, Japan.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 17 FEB 2004
  2. Article first published online: 17 FEB 2004

Funded by

  • Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Grant Number: 13877153

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Keywords:

  • drive for thinness;
  • teenagers;
  • Japan;
  • knowledge

Abstract

The authors investigated for thinness and related eating pathology among high school girls in Japan in relation to their knowledge of eating disorders. In a Tokyo high school, the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 and the Child Depression Inventory were completed by girls aged 13–14 years (n = 243) and 15–16 years (n = 291), together with questionnaires on their knowledge of eating disorders. Japanese teenagers are comparable to Western college students in the distribution of the drive for thinness scores. Senior high school girls show a stronger drive for thinness but this is not closely related to their BMI. Among junior high school girls, the degree of thinness is related to a higher BMI. Subjects who have had personal contact with eating disordered patients have the highest drive for thinness. Both age and knowledge are related to school children's attitudes to eating disorders. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

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