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Abstract Background The prevalence of eating disorders has been assumed to be low in the Arab world, due to the alleged absence of the thin ideal. However, the Arab world is undergoing rapid sociocultural changes, and there are reports of an increase of the desire to be thin. This literature review therefore provides point-prevalence of Arabs at high risk for eating disorders, and a comprehensive synthesis of correlates of eating disorder symptoms, eating disorder-related variables and of a high risk for eating disorders. Method Several electronic databases were searched for published, peer-reviewed studies between 1986 and 2019 involving several key terms. From 317 screened studies, 81, mainly cross-sectional, were included. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and meta-analyses was used as guidance and the quality of studies were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Results Estimates of individuals at high risk for eating disorders ranged from 2 to 54.8%. The eating disorder-related variables identified were desire to be thin, body dissatisfaction, disturbed-, and dieting- eating behavior. Identified correlates were increased affluence, media use, western influences, and obesity. An additional finding was that in some cases eating disorders were expressed somatically rather than psychiatrically. Discussion In the Arab world, females were most at risk for eating disorders and eating disorder symptoms. Sociocultural changes gave rise to the thin ideal and the prevalence of obesity, increasing the risk for the development of eating disorder-related variables and eating disorders. The literature on eating disorders in the Arab world suffers from potential limitations due to the use of non-validated assessment tools. Further research is necessary, particularly on the development and validation of a culturally sensitive assessment tool. Improved knowledge is likely to increase the number of people seeking treatment and decrease the stigma of psychotherapy.

Abstract The authors investigated the condition of self-physique perception and eating behavior, and the relationship between self-physique perception and eating behavior of high school students in Japan. Regarding self-physique perception, subjects were shown six pictures of physiques and asked to choose one physique each for their actual physique and their ideal physique. With respect to eating behavior, the Japanese version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT)-26 was used. Groups of underweight girls, normal girls, and normal boys tended to regard their actual physiques as rather broad, demonstrating that many girls are excessively preoccupied with thinness. The rate of eating problems was 11.2% for the girls and 2.4% for the boys. For both boys and girls, those who idealized the thinner physique scored higher in terms of the EAT score and factor I score. Education regarding body perception and diet must be undertaken as soon as possible in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]