Background: The increasing body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating attitudes among adolescents have become a public health concern globally. Detection and prompt intervention could save adolescents from physiological and psychological health problems. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the body image and eating behavior among senior high school students at Colegio de Santa Catalina de Alejandria enrolled in the school year 2020- 2021 and if there is any relationship between their eating behaviors and body image. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on August 2020 to July 2021 at Colegio de Santa Catalina de Alejandria in Dumaguete City. The study utilized the questionnaires: Eating Attitude Test- 26 (EAT-26) in identifying the risk for eating disorders and the Stunkard Scale for the assessment of body image. The participants of the study were Grade 11 & 12 Senior high school students enrolled in the school year 2020-2021. Descriptive statistics including frequency, percentages, mean and standard deviation were calculated for each variable (age, sex, height and weight). The Spearman’s rank-order correlation was used to analyze the data in determining any relationship between the body image and eating behaviors of the participants. Result: Body dissatisfaction was noted in a portion of female respondents. EAT-26 was considered positive and confirmed the presence of eating attitudes that were associated with risks for the development of eating behavior disorders in 55% of the sample population. A positive correlation between EAT-26 scores and the body image was also observed among female respondents. Conclusion The results indicate that attention must be given to eating behavior risks within this group.
adolescent ; body image ; eating behavior