The Relationship between Orthorexic Tendency and Bread Consumption Habits in Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: Recently, bread is a frequently discussed food whether it is healthy or not, due to its high carbohydrate and gluten content. It is thought that negative attitudes toward bread may effect on eating behavior. The present study examined attitudes toward bread consumption and orthorexic tendency. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 1220 adults. Data including the type and amount of consumed bread, food consumption frequencies and the ORTO-15 scale were collected through a questionnaire. Three stepwise linear regressions were conducted to evaluate the related factors with orthorexic tendency. Results: It was determined that 66.6% of the individuals had an orthorexic tendency. The idea that bread is an unhealthy food was more common in individuals with an orthorexic tendency (p<0.05). Similarly, the percentage of individuals who do not consume any bread was approximately 3 times higher among individuals with orthorexic tendency (p<0.05). Also, daily bread consumption amount (134.1±72.22 g vs. 152.9±76.71 g) and carbohydrate intake (200.7±110.45 g vs. 225.7±111.58 g) were found to be significantly lower in individuals with orthorexic tendency (p<0.05). High educational level, consuming whole grain bread, and low carbohydrate intake were associated with higher levels of orthorexic tendencies according to ORTO-15 scores (p<0.05). Conclusions: These results indicate that the orthorexic tendency was higher in individuals with negative attitudes toward bread. In this respect, it seems important to increase the awareness of individuals about healthy bread types and the amounts to be consumed in terms of gaining healthier eating behaviors/of improving their eating behaviors.