Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep 28;13(10):3415.
doi: 10.3390/nu13103415.

Sharp Increase in Eating Disorders among University Students since the COVID-19 Pandemic

Marie-Pierre Tavolacci  1 , Joel Ladner  2 , Pierre Déchelotte  3
Affiliations

Sharp Increase in Eating Disorders among University Students since the COVID-19 Pandemic

Marie-Pierre Tavolacci et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused stress as well as modified physical activity and eating habits among university students. The objectives were to identify the changes in body mass index (BMI) and eating disorders among university students between 2009 and 2021. Between 2009 and 2021, five repeated cross-sectional studies were conducted among university students who filled in an anonymous online self-questionnaire. Age, gender, and BMI were recorded, and the SCOFF questionnaire was used for ED screening which, in combination with BMI, allows to identify the four broad categories of ED with the Expali algorithm. With the five studies, 8981 university students were included in total. Obesity steadily increased between 2009 and 2021, for both men and women. The prevalence of ED was stable between 2009 and 2018 and significantly increased from 31.8% in 2018 to 51.8% in 2021 for women (p&nbsp;trend < 0.0001), and from 13.0% in 2009 to 31.3% in 2021 for men (p&nbsp;trend < 0.0001). All types of ED increased significantly between 2009 and 2021, except for restrictive ED among men. These results indicate for the first time a significant increase in ED prevalence among students since the COVID-19 pandemic. Initiatives to reinforce early screening of ED to implement targeted interventions in the student population are urgently needed.

Keywords: COVID-19; eating disorders; obesity; university student.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

M.-P.T. and J.L. have no conflict of interest and P.D. has stock options of Targedys SA.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Underweightness, overweightness, and obesity among university students according to the gender, 2009–2021 (N = 8981).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of ED categories among university students according to the gender 2009–2021 (N = 8981). ED: Eating Disorder.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Galmiche M., Déchelotte P., Lambert G., Tavolacci M.P. Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000–2018 period: A systematic literature review. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2019;109:1402–1413. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy342. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tavolacci M.P., Grigioni S., Richard L., Meyrignac G., Déchelotte P., Ladner J. Eating Disorders and Associated Health Risks Among University Students. J. Nutr. Educ. Behav. 2015;47:412–420. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2015.06.009. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organisation WHO Director-General’s Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19. Mar 11, 2020. [(accessed on 18 August 2020)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-genera....
    1. Tavolacci M.P., Wouters E., de Velde S.V., Buffel V., Déchelotte P., Hal G.V., Ladner J. The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on health behaviors among students of a French university. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2021;18:4346. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084346. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Touyz S., Lacey H., Hay P. Eating disorders in the time of COVID-19. J. Eat Disord. 2020;8:19. doi: 10.1186/s40337-020-00295-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed