Body esteem, eating attitudes, and adherence in adolescents with cystic fibrosis from Atlantic Canada.
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Date
2009-04-21T13:58:20Z
Authors
Faulkner, Colleen
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Abstract
A study was conducted to investigate the influence of body esteem, nutritional status,
nutritional intake, and eating attitudes on adherence to dietary therapy and enzymes in
adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis. Nine adolescents aged 12.5 to 18 years
from the CF clinics at the IWK (Halifax, NS) and the Janeway (St. John’s, NL)
participated in the study. The participants completed the following surveys/tools: a
Three-Day Food Diary, The Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), The Body Esteem Scale
for Adolescents and Adults (BES), and The Adherence Survey.
Nutritional analysis determined that study participants had an average caloric intake
of 2174 Cal. Only one participant met the adjusted Estimated Energy Requirement (EER
+ 20%), and was classified as being adherent to dietary therapy. The average Body Mass
Index (BMIp) was at the 52nd percentile, and the average percent Ideal Body Weight
(%IBW) was 100. None of the participants were classified as stunted, according to their
height-for-age, but one was classified as wasted, according to his/her BMIp value.
BES scores determined that participants have a relatively positive body esteem, with
a mean score of 52.67, 57.25% of the highest possible score. Eating attitudes were also
positive, for the most part. However, EAT-26 scores did reveal that one participant was at
risk of developing an eating disorder, having a score over 20.
In the study, adherence was defined as taking the same dose, or more, of a treatment
as prescribed by a doctor and/or dietitian. Adherence to vitamins and nutritional
supplements, when prescribed, was extremely poor, at 0%. Adherence to enzymes taken
with meals and snacks was similar to rates in the literature, with 56% being adherent.
Common reasons cited for non-adherence included forgetfulness, an absence of positive
results, time and effort consuming, and a dislike of taking the treatment in front of others.
Due to the small sample size, two-tailed independent sample t-tests revealed no
statistical significance between adherence, body esteem, eating attitudes, caloric intake,
BMIp, and %IBW. Therefore, results of the study indicate that in the population of all
adolescents with CF, based on the results of this study, one cannot predict differences in
BES, EAT-26, EER, BMIp, or %IBW based on the individuals’s adherence category.
Description
Keywords
Psychological aspects , Nutrition , Adolescence , Body image , Atlantic Provinces , Patients , Children , Cystic fibrosis