Eating behavior and body image perception of pregnant women attending a high-risk outpatient center

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the eating behavior and body image perception in pregnant women attending a high-risk outpatient center. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional, observational study conducted with 28 overweight pregnant women attending the first consultation in the nutrition outpatient center of a maternity hospital in Fortaleza-CE, from December 2010 to February 2011. It has been used a pre-established form containing data on the characterization of the sample (socioeconomic, obstetric, and nutritional), the BES (Binge Eating Scale) to assess binge eating and BSQ (Body Shape Questionnaire) to assess the severity or absence of body image disorder. The variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation and simple frequency and percentage. The Pearson’s correlation was used to verify the relation between body image and binge eating, considering p <0.05. Results: The pregnant women studied had a mean age of 29.4 ± 6.3 years and mean gestational age of 24.6 ± 8.2 weeks. It was found a prevalence of 71.5% (n=20) of body image disorder and 17.8% (n=5) of binge eating. It was also observed a direct and significant correlation between the body image perception and the degree of binge eating (r=0.4358, p=0.020). Conclusion: The high rate of body image disorder positively related to a significant binge eating indicates an unfavorable adjustment of this group of pregnant women to alterations in weight and body shape and size, which are inherent to pregnancy, standing out as group that needs special attention by the professional team. doi:10.5020/18061230.2014.p256

Keywords

• Gestantes
• Imagem corporal
• Transtorno da Compulsão Alimentar