Eating behaviours and attitudes following prolonged exposure to television among ethnic Fijian adolescent girls.

Background: There are no published studies evaluating the impact of introduction of television on disordered eating in media-naïve populations.

Aims: To assess the impact of novel, prolonged exposure to television on disordered eating attitudes and behaviours among ethnic Fijian adolescent girls.

Method: A prospective, multi-wave cross-sectional design was used to compare two samples of Fijian schoolgirls before and after prolonged regional television exposure with a modified 26-item eating attitudes test, supplemented with a semi-structured interview to confirm self-reported symptoms.