Eating Attitudes and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms of Nursing Students

Objective: This study was carried out to evaluate eating attitudes and obsessive-compulsive symptoms of nursing students. Method: This study was performed with 270 nursing students between FebruaryMarch 2013, in a foundation university and a state univesity. Analyses of datas, which were collected using social-demographics questionnaire form, Maudsley Obssesive-Compulsive Question Form and Eating Attitudes Test, were performed with parametric and non-parametric tests. Results: Mean age of participants was 20.89±1.54, 88.1% were women, 33.7% were student in third class, 32.2% were student in second class and 67.8% were having education in state university. Mean body mass index was 21.48±3.12 and according to weights 75.9% were normal, 12.2% were obese, 11.9%were weak. Mean score for EAT was 15.66±8.50 and %5.6 of students have eating disorder. Mean score for MOCQ was 15.46±5.65. It was noted that eating attitudes and obssesive-compulsive signs were not effected by sex, school of education, residence and parents educational status (p>0.05). EAT scores of obese and over weighted students were significantly higher than normal weighted students (p=0.049). There was a significant difference between class of education and total MOCQ score (p=0.004), controlling (p=0.005) and slowness (p=0.009) sub-dimensions. There was a negative correlation between total MOCQ score and income (p=0.009) and age (p=0.001). In addition, very weakly positive correlations between EAT scores and total MOCQ scores (p=0.001), controlling (p=0.005), slowness (p=0.009), rumination (p=0.001) sub-dimesions were noted. Conclusion: Obesity is related with eating attitude, obsessivecompulsive signs were effeted by educating class, age and family income. An increase was noted in frequency of obsessive-compulsive signs along with eating attitude disorders.