EATING DISORDER AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN UGBOWO, OVIA NORTH EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to investigate the prevalence of eating disorder among secondary school students in Ugbowo, Ovia North East of Edo State. The study also determine factors that may contribute to the development of eating disorder in young adolescents, using school students as a case-study. The population of the study made up of one hundred respondents (students) were randomly selected from five secondary schools in Ugbowo. A descriptive survey research design were used for the study, the simple random sampling technique was adopted. A questionnaire instrument comprising of four (4) research questions guiding the study was adopted. A total of 100 copies of questionaire were administered, completed and found relevant to this study. The instrument was subjected to face validation by professionals in health education and the shpervisor. TheAnalysis and data collected bfor this study were carried out using frequency distribution and simple percentage. The analysis of the study revealed the trends towards eating disorder among students in Ugbowo and highlighted the severity towards disordered eating habits, body image issues. This highlights the need for intervention and support to promote positive relationships with food and body image acceptance and coping mechanism for stress and societal pressure as eating disorder is not confined to certain demographics or region but can affect individuals from various backgrounds.