Pensées et ressenti face à l’alimentation de 3 732 personnes de l’agglomération de dijon

Purpose: it was to know the cognitive and emotional thoughts concerning foods and eating in the general and student population of the region of Dijon.Methods: a questionnaire concerning the cognitive and emotional thoughts was beforehand established, validated and handed or sent to 10 000 students and persons of the population of Dijon drawn lots and paired according to district and family. The analysis concerned 3 732 persons, i.e. the 882 students and the 2 850 people of both genders from the general population who restored a more than 95% completed and coherent questionnaire.Results: in this population, negative thoughts and fear in front of the food were noted in a not exceptional way:

-

to eat disgusts me: 1.6%;

-

to eat frightens me: 3.3%;

-

the glance of the other one when I eat frightens me: 13%;

-

this food which we propose me make me bad, sink, sad or tightened in 9 at 18% of the cases.

Also, a important percentage of eating disorders or abnormalities was found:

-

binge eating: 8%;

-

bulimia nervosa: 4.3%;

-

anorexia nervosa: 2.2%;

-

low weight (IMC<19 kg/(m)²) and frightens in front of glance of the other one: 13%.

These abnormalities were more frequent in young people than in older one’s and in women than in men, but were not so rare in older women (>35 years old) and in men. The questionnaire allowed us to show that a subgroup of people really exists, who are very attentive to the “dietically correct” and anxious about foods. This so-called subgroup “orthorexia” concerned around 1.9% of our total population and 6.1% of thin people (IMC<19 kg/(m)²).Conclusion: the health aspect of the food and the fear of getting fat are important preoccupations of certain number of persons, both in the student population and the general one. This raises the problem of the irrational meaning of the food for a certain number of people, in front of media messages and of the food availability.