Eating disorders: scales to assess symptoms and risk behaviors

Introduction: eating disorders are a group of syndromes that have in common,psychopathological traits that are largely determined by their physical appearance. Theyare much more common in women than in men, predominantly in young people. Thereis increased incidence of eating disorders, which are the result of improved knowledgeand the increasingly early implementation of better instruments for symptoms, riskfactors and the availability of well defined diagnostic criteria.Objective: to identify key validated scales to detect symptoms and risk behaviors foreating disorders in adolescents and adults.Methodology: thematic review of publications in which they occur, validate andanalyze different scales to assess symptoms and risk behaviors for ED. Electronicsearch was conducted from 1984 to 2011 in English and Spanish. We included all typesof publications. We reviewed the abstracts and full papers were selected that addressedscales to assess symptoms and risk factors for eating behavior disorders.Results: 539 abstracts were obtained on TCA. We reviewed 75 articles identified sixcomplete and validated scales to identify symptoms and risk behaviors. Scale SCOFF(Sick, Control, Outweigh, Fat, Food). Scale EDE-Q. (Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire self-report). Scale EAT (Eating Attitudes Test) in versions 40 and 26questions. Scale EDI (Eating Disorder Inventory). Scale BULIT (Bulimia Test) andversion revised (BULIT-R). Scale BITE (Bulimia Test of Edinburg).Conclusion: the SCOFF scale stands out to be simple and easy to apply orally orin writing. EAT scale, in both versions, is considered the gold standard to identifysymptoms and risk behaviors for eating disorder behavior.RESUMEN:Introducción: los trastornos de comportamiento alimentario (TCA) son un grupo desíndromes que tienen en común rasgos psicopatológicos fuertemente determinadospor la apariencia física. Son mucho más frecuentes en mujeres que en varones,predominando en jóvenes. Hay aumento en la incidencia de los TCA, como producto delmejoramiento en el conocimiento y en la implementación cada vez más temprana demejores instrumentos de búsqueda de síntomas, factores de riesgo y la disponibilidadde criterios diagnósticos bien definidos.Objetivo: identificar las principales escalas validadas que permiten detectar síntomasy conductas de riesgo para trastornos del comportamiento alimentario en adolescentesy adultos.Metodología: revisión temática de publicaciones en las que se presentan, validan yanalizan diversas escalas para evaluar síntomas y conductas de riesgo para TCA. Serealizó búsqueda electróni