Disordered eating in South-western Pueblo Indians and Hispanics

• Published in: Journal of adolescence (London, England.) England.), 1989-09, Vol.12 (3), p.329-336
• Main Authors: Snow, Janeanne T., Harris, Mary B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anorexia Nervosa - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Body Image; Bulimia - psychology; Child psychology; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Eating disorders; Female; Hispanic Americans - psychology; Humans; Indians, North American - psychology; Male; Medical sciences; Minority & ethnic groups; Miscellaneous; New Mexico; Obesity - psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry
• ISSN: 0140-1971; 1095-9254
• DOI: 10.1016/0140-1971(89)90083-3

The present study investigated the incidence of eating disorders in two samples representing populations seldom reported upon in the eating disorder literature: Pueblo Indians and Hispanics. Subjects were 95 students from a rural, public high school serving primarily low income families. Although no ethnic differences were found, the majority of girls in both samples reported wanting to lose weight, being worried about their weight, and indulging in binge eating. Nine of the girls (11 per cent) reported eating habits consistent with the DMS III (APA, 1980) criteria for bulimia. In contrast, few boys indicated concerns about their weight or eating habits. The results suggest that eating disorders and concern about obesity are found in a variety of ethnic groups in the United States today.