Prevalence Of Orthorexia Nervosa Research Articles

We need new tools to assess Orthorexia Nervosa. A commentary on “Prevalence of Orthorexia Nervosa among College Students Based on Bratman’s Test and Associated Tendencies”

We need new tools to assess Orthorexia Nervosa. A commentary on “Prevalence of Orthorexia Nervosa among College Students Based on Bratman’s Test and Associated Tendencies”

Prevalence of Orthorexia Nervosa among College Students Based on Bratman's Test and Associated Tendencies

Disordered eating is prevalent among college student populations, and Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is being explored as a new type of eating disorder. There is currently no standardized ON diagnostic tool, and the majority of ON research has been conducted among European populations. The present study explored the Bratman Orthorexia Test (BOT) for ON diagnosis, and its relationship to validated tools for assessing disordered eating, body dysmorphic, and obsessive‐compulsive tendencies among college students attending a western university. A convenience sample of 448 college students with a mean age of 22 years was recruited to complete an online survey that included the BOT, Eating Attitudes Test‐26 (EAT‐26), Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ), Obsessive Compulsive Inventory, Revised (OCI‐R) and demographics. Spearman correlation, Mann‐Whitney U, Kruskal‐Wallis, chi‐square, and multiple linear regressions were used for analyses. The average BOT score of 4.71 was near the “health fanatic” range, with Hispanic/Latino subjects and overweight/obese students having significantly higher median BOT scores. Gender, age, and college major were not significantly associated with BOT score. Significant positive correlations were observed between total BOT and EAT‐26 scores (r=.47, p<0.01), BOT and BDDQ scores (r=.25, p<0.01), and BOT and OCI‐R scores (r=.19, p<0.01). ON tendencies may exist among college students and Hispanic/Latino and overweight/obese students may be at increased risk. Further research is needed to determine ON risk factors among diverse student populations in order to inform prevention and treatment approaches on college campuses.

Prevalence of Orthorexia nervosa among college students based on Bratman's test and associated tendencies

Disordered eating is prevalent among college student populations, and Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is being explored as a new type of eating disorder. There is currently no standardized ON diagnostic tool, and the majority of ON research has been conducted among European populations. The present study explored the Bratman Orthorexia Test (BOT) for ON diagnosis, and its relationship to validated tools for assessing disordered eating, body dysmorphic, and obsessive-compulsive tendencies among college students attending a western university. A convenience sample of 448 college students with a mean age of 22 years was recruited to complete an online survey that included the BOT, Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ), Obsessive Compulsive Inventory, Revised (OCI-R) and demographics. Spearman correlation, Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, chi-square, and multiple linear regressions were used for analyses. The average BOT score was 4.71, near the “health fanatic” range, with Hispanic/Latino subjects and overweight/obese students having significantly higher median BOT scores. Gender, age, and college major were not significantly associated with BOT score. Significant positive correlations were observed between total BOT and EAT-26 scores (r = .47, p < 0.01), BOT and BDDQ scores (r = .25, p < 0.01), and BOT and OCI-R scores (r = .19, p < 0.01). ON tendencies may exist among college students and Hispanic/Latino and overweight/obese students may be at increased risk. Further research is needed to determine ON risk factors among diverse student populations in order to inform prevention and treatment approaches on college campuses.

Prevalence of Orthorexia Nervosa in a Population of Young Italian Adults

Introduction Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is an alleged eating disorder in which the person is excessively preoccupied with healthy food. First described by Bratman in 1997, ON entails a fixation on healthy food or a health food dependence. The term orthorexia nervosa arises from the Greek words orthos (=accurate) and orexis (=hunger) meaning obsession with healthy food and proper nutrition. Fears and worries about health, eating, and the quality of food are significant. Objectives We investigated the prevalence of ON in a a population of young Italian adults by using a validated questionnaire (ORTO-15). Aims We aimed to assess the prevalence of ON in a large sample of general population and to identify some possible specific correlation such as gender and Body Mass Index (BMI). Methods 1453 adult subjects from the general population were administered the ORTO-15 test and investigated for gender, age and BMI. Statistical analyses were performed referring to diagnostic threshold (40). Results Orthorexia had a 10,9% prevalence in our sample, with a female prevalence statistically significant (female vs male= 72,8% vs 27,2%). Moreover, age and Body Mass Index did not seem to be significant factors. Conclusions ON is not currently considered as a full-fledged and discrete mental disorder. Again, the definition and diagnostic criteria of ON remain unclear. Further studies are needed to clarify appropriate diagnostic methods and the place of ON among psychopathological categories. This should be accompanied by a vigorous research effort aimed at understanding the core nature of this condition.

The prevalence of orthorexia nervosa among eating disorder patients after treatment.

The pursuit for healthy food consumption is considered a laudable habit. This attitude can turn into pathological when cognitions and worries about healthy nutrition lead to such an accurate food selection that correct diet becomes the most important part of one's own life leading to important dietary restrictions, stereotyped eating or impairment in important areas of functioning. This behaviour is coined orthorexia nervosa (ON) and can share common characteristics with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). The purpose of the present study was to examine the frequency of ON among women with eating disorders (EDs) and to evaluate if it changed after treating the ED. Thirty-two patients with AN or BN were evaluated by means of the ORTO-15, the Yale-Brown-Cornell Eating Disorder Scale (YBC-EDS) and the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) before (t0) and 3 years after the treatment of their ED (t1), and compared to 32 female healthy controls (HC) matched by gender, age, and BMI at t1. A significantly higher percentage of patients either at t0 (28 %) or t1 (58 %) resulted positive to ORTO-15 compared to controls (6 %). YBC-EDS and EAT-26 scores were higher among ED patients than in HC, but they decreased from t0 to t1. Orthorexia nervosa symptoms are highly prevalent among patients with AN and BN, and tend to increase after treatment. ON seems associated both with the clinical improvement of AN and BN and the migration towards less severe forms of EDs. It is necessary to clarify if ON residual symptomatology can be responsible for a greater number of relapses and recurrences of EDs.

Prevalence of orthorexia nervosa among ashtanga yoga practitioners: a pilot study.

Orthorexia nervosa (ON, i.e., fixation on righteous eating) is a poorly defined disordered eating behavior that results from a pathological obsession with food, its purported nutritional value, composition, origin, etc. We investigated the prevalence of ON in a local ashtanga yoga community, by using a validated questionnaire (ORTO-15) that sets a threshold of ON diagnosis at ≤40. Among the 136 respondents, the mean ORTO-15 score (which was normally distributed) was 35.27±3.69, i.e., 86% of respondents had an ORTO-15 score lower than 40 and no significant association with age or BMI was recorded. When we analyzed the differential distribution of orthorexia in our cohort, we recorded an association of ORTO-15 score and vegetarianism, i.e., the ORTO-15 score was lower among vegetarians. The results of this pilot study should suggest ashtanga yoga teachers to avoid excessive reference to a healthy diet, which is natural component of yoga practice.

Prevalence of orthorexia nervosa among students at a rural university (1021.10)

Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is characterized by an obsession with healthy eating which when taken to the extreme may lead to severe weight loss, nutrient deficiencies and social isolation. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of ON tendencies among a sample of college students at a rural northern California university. A convenience sample of 448 male (n=95, 21%) and female (n=353, 79%) students from California State University, Chico completed an online survey which included demographic and lifestyle behavior questions, and the ORTO‐15, an instrument previously validated in European populations for measuring ON tendencies. Sixty‐five percent of the participants were Caucasian and their mean BMI was 24.4 ± 5.9, based on self‐reported height and weight. A majority of participants reported living with others (n=407, 90.8%), consuming an omnivorous diet (n=385, 85.9%), and taking supplements (n=259, 57.8%), while 41 participants (9.2%) reported consuming a specialized diet for health reasons. Of the 448 participants, 353 (81%) scored less than 40 on the ORTO‐15, indicating ON tendencies. Increased exercise frequency, younger age, vegetarian diet, and consuming a specialized diet were significant predictors of ON tendencies in this sample (p&lt; .05). Further research is needed to confirm these results in diverse populations and to guide nutrition education efforts aimed at preventing disordered eating among college students.

Prevalence of orthorexia nervosa in resident medical doctors in the faculty of medicine (Ankara, Turkey)

This study has been carried out to “identify highly sensitive behavior on healthy nutrition (orthorexia nervosa—ON)” in residence medical doctors (MD) in the Faculty of Medicine. Diagnoses of ON was based on the presence of a disorder with obsessive–compulsive personality. The study is a cross-sectional research, which reached out to the entire 318 MD. The ORTO-15 test was used to propose a diagnostic proceeding and to try verify the prevalence of ON. Those subjects who were classified below 40 from the ORTO-15 test are accepted to have ON. Chi-square test, ANOVA (univariate) analysis and logistic regression were used for analyses of the data. Mean score of the participants from the ORTO-15 test is 39.8±0.22, and there is no statistical difference between women and men. A total of 45.5% of the residence MD involved in the research scored below 40 in the ORTO-15 test. Those who do their food shopping themselves, skip a meal with a salad/fruit, care about the quality of the things they eat, think that eating outside is healthy, look at the content of what they eat and the content of food is important in selection of a product score lower in their average marks in ORTO-15 and the difference among the groups is statistically significant. Food selection of 20.1% of the male participants and 38.9% of the female participants among the residence MD is influenced by the programs on nutrition/health in mass-media. The difference between the groups is statistically significant (p<0.05). Female medical doctors are more careful than men of their physical appearance and weight control and consume less caloric food, which is statistically significant. Since those who exhibit “healthy fanatic” eating habits may have a risk of ON in the future, it would be useful to conduct studies that identify the prevalence of ON in the public.