Eating attitudes among college students in Malaysia: an ethnic and gender comparison

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine whether there are gender and ethnic differences in eating attitudes among ethnic Malay and ethnic Chinese college students in Malaysia, and whether eating attitudes are related to BMI and measures of self‐dissatisfaction and separation anxiety. The Eating Attitudes Test‐26 (EAT‐26), the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory, and a self‐dissatisfaction scale were administered to 187 Malay and 80 Chinese students. There were no sex differences in disordered eating attitudes for either ethnic group, however, Malay students scored higher on the EAT‐26 than the Chinese students. Separation anxiety was related to EAT‐26 scores among female participants but not among males. Levels of self‐dissatisfaction were associated with EAT‐26 scores among Malay males and Chinese females. Contrary to findings commonly found among Westerners, there were no gender differences in disordered eating attitudes among college students in Malaysia. However, there were gender differences in what factors were associated with disordered eating attitudes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.