Correlates of orthorexia nervosa in a sample of Lebanese adolescents: the co-moderating effect of body dissatisfaction and self-esteem between mental health issues and orthorexia nervosa

Abstract

ABSTRACT A limited amount of studies exists today on the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa (ON) and associated factors in adolescents. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the correlation of body dissatisfaction, self-esteem, anxiety and depression with ON tendencies and behaviors among a sample of Lebanese adolescents (15 to 18 years old), suggesting body dissatisfaction and self-esteem as co-moderators among these factors. This cross-sectional study, conducted between May and June 2020, enrolled 555 Lebanese adolescents, using a proportionate sample from all Lebanese governorates. The results of a first linear regression, taking the ON score as the dependent variable, showed that more anxiety, following a diet to lose weight, starving oneself to lose weight and feeling pressured by media to lose weight were significantly associated with more ON. When entering the interaction body dissatisfaction by depression/anxiety as independent variables, the results showed that following a diet to lose weight, starving oneself to lose weight and feeling pressured by media to lose weight were significantly associated with more ON, whereas higher body dissatisfaction and more depression were significantly associated with less ON. Moreover, the interaction depression by body dissatisfaction showed significance with ON; in patients with high depression, high body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with higher ON. In this study, a significant strong and equivocal interactive correlation was found between ON and different demographic, sociocultural and psychological factors. Although the obtained findings remain preliminary, being taken from a limited sample from one Arabic country, they may still add to the scarcity of the literature about ON and its screening tools, as well as they may pave a way for future research in the field of the eating psychology.