Emergence of Eating Disorders in India. Study of Eating Distress Syndrome and Development of a Screening Questionnaire

Eating disorders do not seem to manifest as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia in non- Western cultures like India, but occur infrequently in milder forms with fewer symptoms, In the absence of the major disorders, standard questionnaires such as the Eating Attitudes Test appropriate for detecting severe disorders, may not be useful in identifying low-prevalence milder disorders. This paper describes the development of a 15 item questionnaire for use in populations with very low or nil prevalence of major disorders of eating but where minor forms do occur. One such minor disorder, Eating Distress Syndrome, described by the authors in an earlier study, is replicated here and its associated variables are studied. The paper discusses the factors influencing the nature of presentation of eating disorders in a culture different from the West and the possible future emergence of severe disorders like Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia in such cultures.