Ethnic and gender differences in eating attitudes among black and white college students

• Published in: Eating behaviors : an international journal 2005-12, Vol.6 (4), p.328-336
• Main Authors: Aruguete, Mara S., DeBord, Kurt A., Yates, Alayne, Edman, Jeanne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; African Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; Anger; Attitude - ethnology; Biological and medical sciences; Body Image; Body Mass Index; Diet - psychology; Differential and comparative psychology; Drive; Eating - psychology; Eating behaviors; Ethnicity; European Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender eating attitudes; Humans; Male; Personal Satisfaction; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Sex Factors; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thinness - psychology
• ISSN: 1471-0153; 1873-7358
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2004.01.014

This study examines ethnic and gender differences in eating attitudes and behaviors among college students. Participants were 225 Black and 199 White students sampled from a historically Black university. White participants were more dissatisfied with their bodies, engaged in more self-loathing, and dieted more than Blacks. Similarly, women were more dissatisfied with their bodies, engaged in more self-loathing, dieted more, and showed a greater drive for thinness than men. White women and Blacks of either gender exhibited similar predictors of drive for thinness with each group showing some combination of dieting and self-loathing. Intrapersonal anger predicted drive for thinness in White men, adding to a growing body of research suggesting a link between anger and eating disorders. Results support a substantial body of literature showing that Black and White college students differ on their views of body image and eating. Future research should explore the role of anger as a risk factor for eating disorders among White men.