Food, mood, and attitude: reducing risk for eating disorders in college women

Health Psychol. 2005 Nov;24(6):567-78. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.6.567.

Abstract

Food, Mood, and Attitude (FMA) is a CD-ROM prevention program developed to decrease risk for eating disorders in college women. Female 1st-year students (N = 240) were randomly assigned to the intervention (FMA) or control group. Equal numbers of students at risk and of low risk for developing an eating disorder were assigned to each condition. Participants in the FMA condition improved on all measures relative to controls. Significant 3-way interactions (Time x Condition x Risk Status) were found on measures of internalization of sociocultural attitudes about thinness, shape concerns, and weight concerns, indicating that at-risk participants in the intervention group improved to a greater extent than did low-risk participants. At follow-up, significantly fewer women in the FMA group reported overeating and excessive exercise relative to controls.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Affect*
  • Attitude*
  • Feeding Behavior*
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders / epidemiology
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders / prevention & control*
  • Female
  • Food*
  • Humans
  • Mass Screening / methods
  • Risk Reduction Behavior*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Universities*