Abstract
Treatment aimed at achieving an ideal nutritional status is an integral part of the management of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Emphasis is continually placed upon dietary intake and weight. The effects of this on eating behavior and self-perceptions are unclear. This work compared male and female CF adults with a healthy male and female control population with regard to (a) clinical variables, (b) actual, perceived, and desired body shape/body mass index (BMI), and (c) body satisfaction, eating behaviors and attitudes, and self-esteem. Clinical data were recorded for 221 adults with CF and 148 healthy controls. All subjects completed BMI Charts (perception of body weight/BMI), the Eating Attitudes Test, and scales of body satisfaction and self-esteem. CF patients had poorer lung function and nutritional status than controls. Control males accurately perceived their body shape/BMI and were content with it, whereas CF males viewed their BMI as greater than it actually was and desired to be much heavier. Control females viewed their body shape/BMI as less than it actually was and desired to be even slimmer, in comparison with CF females, who perceived their BMI as less than it actually was but were happy with their perceived shape/weight. Control subjects, especially females, dieted to a greater extent and were more preoccupied with food (with binge eating and intended vomiting) than CF patients. Conversely, those with CF reported greater pressure from others to eat than did controls. More problems with food/eating behavior were associated with less body satisfaction and reduced self-esteem. In comparison with a healthy control population, the perceptions and behaviors of CF adults relating to eating, weight, and body image are not abnormal. Indeed, females with CF have fewer problems than their healthy peers.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Blair, C., Cull, A., and Freeman, C. P. (1994). Psychosocial functioning of young adults with cystic fibrosis and their families. Thorax 49: 798-802.
Borowitz, D. (1994). Pathophysiology of gastrointestinal complications of cystic fibrosis. Semin. Resp. Crit. Care Med. 15: 391-394.
Brennan, N., and Kevany, J. (1985). Anthropometry and body image in a selected sample of adolescent girls. Int. J. Med. Sci. 154: 220-227.
Bruch, H. (1973). Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa and thePersonWithin, Routledge and Kegan-Paul, London.
Canadian Dietetic Association (1988). The Body Test.
Carroll, D., Gleeson, C., Ribsby, B., and Dugdale, A. E. (1986). Body build and the desire for slenderness in young people Austral. Pediatric Journal. 22: 121-125.
Conway, S. P., Pond, M. N., Hamnett, T., and Watson A. (1996). Compliance with treatment in adult patients with cystic fibrosis. Thorax 51: 29-33.
Cooper, P., and Fairburn, C.G. (1983). Binge-eating and self-induced vomiting in the community: A preliminary study. Br. J. Psychiatry 142: 139-144.
Demko, C. A., Byard, P. J., and Davis, P. B. (1995). Gender differences in cystic fibrosis: Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. J. Clin. Epidemiol. 48: 1041-1049.
Dodge, J. A., Morison, S., Lewis, P. A., et al. (1993). Cystic fibrosis in the United Kingdom, 1968–1988: Incidence population and survival. Paediatr. Perinatal Epidemiol. 7: 157-166.
Douthitt, V. L. (1994). Psychological determinants of adolescent exercise adherence. Adolescence 29: 711-722.
Durie, P., and Pencharz, P. (1989). A rational approach to the nutritional care of patients with CF. J Roy. Soc. Med. 82: 11-20.
Durie, P., and Pencharz, P. (1992). Nutrition. Br. Med. Bull. 48: 823-847.
Dwyer, J. T., Feldman, J. J., and Mayer, J. (1967). Adolescent dieters: Who are they? Physical characteristics, attitudes and dieting practices of adolescent girls. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 20: 1045-1056.
Eisler, I., and Szmukler, G. I. (1985). Social class as a confounding variable in the Eating Attitude Test. J. Psychiatr Res. 19: 171-176.
Elborn, J. S., and Bell, S. C. (1996). Nutrition and survival in cystic fibrosis. Thorax 5: 971-972.
Elborn, J. S., Cordon, S. M., Wester, D., MacDonald, I. A., and Shale, D. J. (1993). Tumor necrosis factor alpha, resting energy expenditure and cachexia in cystic fibrosis. Clin. Sci. 85: 562-568.
Fairburn, C. G., Cooper, Z., and Cooper, P. J. (1986). The clinical features and maintenance of bulimia nervosa. In Brownell, K.D., and Foreyt, J. P. (eds.), Handbook of Eating Disorders, Basic Books, New York, pp. 389-404.
Fairburn, C.G., Peveler, R. C., Davies, B., Mann, J. I., and Mayou, R. A. (1991). Eating disorders in young adults with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus: A controlled study. Br. Med. J. 303: 17-20.
Fitzsimmons, S. C. (1993). The changing epidemiology of cystic fibrosis. J. Paediatr. 122: 1-9.
Garner, D. M., Olmsted, M. P., Bohr, Y., and Garfinkel, P. E. (1982). The eating attitudes test: Psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychol. Med. 12: 871-878.
Hatfield, W., and Sprecher, S. (1986). Mirror, Mirror: The Importance of Looks in Everyday Life, State University of New York Press, Buffalo.
Knudson, R. J., Lebowitz, M. D., Holberg, C. J., and Burrows, B. (1993). Changes in the normal maximal expiratory flow volume curve with growth and aging. Am. Rev. Resp. Dis. 127: 725-734.
MacDonald, A. (1996). Nutritional management of cystic fibrosis. Arch. Dis Child. 74: 81-87.
Miller, T. M., Gilbride, Goffman, J., and Linke, R. A. (1980). Survey on body image, weight and diet of college students. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 77: 561-566.
Moise, J. R., Drotar, D., Doershuk, C. F., and Stern, R. C. (1987). Correlates of psychosocial adjustment among young adults with cystic fibrosis. J. Dev. Behav. Pediatr. 8: 141-148.
Murphy, J. L., and Wooton, S. A. (1998). Nutritional management in cystic fibrosis—An alternative perspective in gastrointestinal function. Disabil. Rehab. 20: 226-234.
Nasser, M. (1994). The psychometric properties of the Eating Attitudes Test in a non-Western population. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 29: 88-94.
Nylander, I. (1971). The feeling of being fat and dieting in a school population. Acta Socio-Med. Scand. 1: 17-26.
Pencharz, P.B., Corey, M., Durie, P. R., et al. (1996). Critical stages in the nutritional development of patients with cystic fibrosis. Pediatr. Pulmonol. 13 (Suppl.): 207-208.
Peveler, R. C., Boller., I., Fairburn, C.G., and Dunger, D. (1992). Eating disorders in adolescents with IDDM. Diabetes Care 13: 56-60.
Ramsey, B.W., Farrell, P. M., and Pencharz, P.B. (1992). Nutritional assessment and management in cystic fibrosis: A consensus report. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 55: 108-116.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the Adolescent Self-Image, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Rosenfeld, M., Davis, R., Fitzsimmons, S., Pepe, M., and Ramsey, B. (1997). Gender gap in cystic fibrosis mortality. Am. J. Epidemiol. 145: 794-803.
Sawyer, S. M., Rosier, M. J., Phelan, P. D., and Bowes, G. (1995). The self-image of adolescents with cystic fibrosis. J. Adolesc. Health 16: 204-208.
Shepherd, S. L., Hovell, M. F., Harwood, I. R., et al. (1997). A comparative study of the psychosocial assets of adults with cystic fibrosis and their health peers. Chest 13: 10-16.
Steel, J. M., Young, R. J., Lloyd, G. G., and Clarke, B. F. (1987). Clinically apparent eating disorders in young diabetic women: Associations with painful neuropathy and other complications. Br. Med. J. 294: 859-862.
Steel, J. M., Young, R. J., Lloyd, G.G., and MacIntyre, C.C.A. (1989). Abnormal eating attitudes in young insulin independent diabetics. Br. J. Psychiatry 155: 515-521.
Wardle, J., and Beales, S. (1986). Restraint, body image and food attitudes in children from 12–18 years. Appetite 7: 209-217.
Williamson, D. A., Davis, C. J., Bennett, S. M., Goreczny, A. J., and Gleaves, D. H. (1989). Development of a simple procedure for assessing body image disturbances. Behav. Assess. 11: 433-466.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Abbott, J., Conway, S., Etherington, C. et al. Perceived Body Image and Eating Behavior in Young Adults with Cystic Fibrosis and Their Healthy Peers. J Behav Med 23, 501–517 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005532602084
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005532602084