Association between family relationships and risky eating behavior in adolescents/ASSOCIACAO ENTRE RELACOES FAMILIARES E COMPORTAMENTO ALIMENTAR DE RISCO EM ADOLESCENTES

To evaluate the association between family relationships and risky eating behavior in adolescents. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 14 to 18 years old students enrolled in public high schools in the city of Carazinho, Rio Grande do Sul. Data were collected using a standardized, pre-coded and self-administered questionnaire with questions about demographic characteristics, economic class, eating behavior, body image and perception of family support. Weight and height measures were also checked with nutritional status. Data were entered and analyzed in statistical software. To verify the association, the Fisher Exact test was applied. We investigated 97 adolescents with an average age of 16.2 years (SD = 0.1), the majority female (54.6%), belonging to B economic class (46.1%) and being classified as eutrophic (78.4%). The risk behavior was present in 48.5% of adolescents, 78.4% did not present body dissatisfaction and the low perception of family support was 34.1%. It was not found any relation between risky eating behavior and family support. This study did not show any relation between the investigated variables, however, it is important to consider other factors not evaluated, as school, social network, socioeconomic and cultural conditions, that can influence on eating behavior and body image. Key words: Family Relationship. Feeding Behavior. Adolescent. Avaliar a associacao entre as relacoes familiares e o comportamento alimentar de risco em adolescentes. Estudo transversal com estudantes de 14 a 18 anos de idade matriculados em escolas publicas de ensino medio da cidade de Carazinho no Rio Grande do Sul. Os dados foram coletados a partir de questionario autoaplicavel com questoes sobre as caracteristicas demograficas, classe economica, comportamento alimentar, imagem corporal e de percepcao do suporte familiar. Tambem foram aferidas as medidas de peso e altura para avaliacao do estado nutricional. Os dados foram digitados e analisados em software estatistico. Para verificar a associacao foi aplicado o teste de Exato de Fisher. Foram investigados 97 adolescentes com media de idade de 16,2 anos, a maioria era do sexo feminino (54,6%), pertencente a classe economica B (46,1%) e eutroficos (78,4%). O comportamento alimentar de risco esteve presente em 48,5% dos adolescentes, 78,4% nao apresentam insatisfacao corporal e a baixa percepcao de suporte familiar foi de 34,1%. O estudo nao demonstrou relacao entre as variaveis investigadas, entretanto