Traits of irrational beliefs related to eating problems in Japanese college women

This study focused on the relation of irrational beliefs and Body Mass Index(BMI) to inappropriate eating attitudes in Japanese college women. A total of 110 nonclinical subjects completed the Japanese Irrational Belief Test (JIBT) and the Japanese version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT). The JIBT subscale of ‘self expectation’ had significant positive correlations with the EAT total score and the subscales of ‘obsession with eating’,‘dieting’ and ‘obese-phobia’. The JIBT subscale of ‘dependence’ had a significant positive correlation with the EAT subscale of ‘obsession with eating’. BMI score showed significant positive correlations with the EAT total score and the subscales of ‘dieting’ and ‘obesephobia’.The present results suggest that characteristic irrational beliefs are associated with inappropriate eating attitudes, suggesting that clarifying and then modifying their rationality may be a useful method of preventive intervention in nonclinical young women with eating problems.