Traits of orthorexia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia in Italian university students: a multicentre study

Eating disorders is a general term used for grouping all the problems related to eating attitudes under one title and for expressing these problems. Orthorexia nervosa (ON), also known as “obsession of healthy eating” recently happened to be the research topic of clinicians worldwide. This study was conducted to evaluate the association between eating attitudes and orthorexia nervosa in university students. The research population was comprised of 379 university students in the departments of nutrition and dietetics and nursing. The data was collected by the survey form questioning some of the socio-demographic and anthropometric properties of the students; and as for the data collection tool, ON tendency was determined by ORTHO-11 test and the information regarding anorexia and buliminia nervosa was gathered by “Eating Manner Test (EAT-40). Mean age of the students was found as 20.09±1.47 years, mean body weight as 60.55±10.01 kg, and mean height as 168.08±7.91 cm. Mean BMI of the all participating students is found as 21.6±2.12 as normal weight (18.5-24.9). EAT-40 points of the female were found to be significantly higher in comparison to that of the male (p<0.05). ORTHO-11 points of the male students were found to be significantly higher as compared to that of female students (p<0.05). Eating disorders will tend to increase as long as the concepts of beauty, good look and appeal are based on low body mass index. We also believe that the youg population who are most influenced by such popular trends need to acquire truly healthy nutrition habits through training and increase their quality of life.

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Orthorexia Nervosa and its association with obsessive–compulsive disorder symptoms: initial cross-cultural comparison between Polish and Italian university students

Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia Bulimia and Obesity ◽

10.1007/s40519-021-01228-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Brytek-Matera ◽

Susanna Pardini ◽

Justyna Modrzejewska ◽

Adriana Modrzejewska ◽

Paulina Szymańska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Cultural Context ◽

Orthorexia Nervosa ◽

Future Research ◽

Core Beliefs ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Level Of Evidence ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Two Samples

Abstract There is limited evidence of a link between Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) and Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and no definitive conclusions can be drawn. The interplay between socio-cultural context and ON has been poorly investigated as well. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were: (1) to investigate the differences in ON and OCD symptoms and (2) to assess the relationship between ON and OCD symptoms among university students. Six hundred and sixty-six university students participated in the present study: 286 from Poland and 320 from Italy. No age, gender and marital status differences were identified between two samples of university students. However, on average, Polish university students had a higher Body Mass Index than Italian ones. Our findings showed that Polish students present more problems related to obsessive symptomatology, core beliefs of OCD, perfectionism traits, and a major ON symptomatology than Italian ones. Also, Polish students with a higher level of ON exhibited higher levels of OCD symptoms and parental expectations/parental criticism. While Italian students with a higher level of ON showed higher levels of perfectionism features (organization and concern over mistakes). In general, correlations were low as confirmation of partial independence ON from OCD symptoms and core beliefs of OCD in both Polish and Italian university students. The present results highlight a need for further investigation of the correlates of ON across different cultural groups. Future research may screen individuals with ON to determine the comorbidity between ON and OCD symptomology to facilitate appropriate treatment choices. Level of evidence Level V, Opinions of respected authorities, based on descriptive studies, narrative reviews, clinical experience, or reports of expert committees.

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Evaluation of Orthorexia Nervosa and Symptomatology Associated with Eating Disorders among European University Students: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12123716 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 3716 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anna Brytek-Matera ◽

María Dolores Onieva-Zafra ◽

María Laura Parra-Fernández ◽

Anna Staniszewska ◽

Justyna Modrzejewska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorder ◽

University Students ◽

Body Dissatisfaction ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Orthorexia Nervosa ◽

Drive For Thinness ◽

Eating Disorder Inventory ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Relationship ◽

European University

The objectives of the present study were to (1) evaluate prevalence of orthorexia nervosa (ON) in university students in Spain and Poland, (2) assess differences in ON and eating disorder (ED) pathology in both samples and (3) examine the relationship between ON and ED symptoms among Spanish and Polish university students. Eight hundred and sixty university students participated in the present study (Mage = 21.17 ± 3.38; MBMI = 22.57 ± 3.76). The Spanish and Polish samples comprised 485 and 375 students, respectively. The Düsseldorf Orthorexia Scale and the Eating Disorder Inventory were used in the present study. ON prevalence rates of 2.3% and 2.9%, respectively, are found in the Spanish and Polish samples. Compared to Polish students, Spanish university students reported increased drive for thinness and lower body dissatisfaction, lower level of ineffectiveness and lower level of interpersonal distrust. ON was positively related to drive for thinness, bulimia, body dissatisfaction, perfectionism interoceptive awareness (in both Spanish and Polish students) and ineffectiveness (in Spanish students). Our findings suggest that ON significantly overlaps with ED symptoms, which is in line with recent studies. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess how ON develops in a sample of young adults and whether it develops in isolation of or in parallel with ED pathology.

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Erratum to: Orthorexia nervosa and self-attitudinal aspects of body image in female and male university students

Journal of Eating Disorders ◽

10.1186/s40337-016-0105-3 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Anna Brytek-Matera ◽

Lorenzo Maria Donini ◽

Magdalena Krupa ◽

Eleonora Poggiogalle ◽

Phillipa Hay

Keyword(s):

Body Image ◽

University Students ◽

Orthorexia Nervosa ◽

Male University Students

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Use of online and paper-and-pencil questionnaires to assess the distribution of orthorexia nervosa, muscle dysmorphia and eating disorders among university students: can different approaches lead to different results?

Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia Bulimia and Obesity ◽

10.1007/s40519-021-01231-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ilaria Silvia Rossella Gorrasi ◽

Cinzia Ferraris ◽

Raffaella Degan ◽

Giovanni Abbate Daga ◽

Simona Bo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorders ◽

Test Scores ◽

Response Rate ◽

Muscle Dysmorphia ◽

Orthorexia Nervosa ◽

Eating Behaviours ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Level Of Evidence ◽

Paper And Pencil ◽

Eat 26

Abstract Purpose Administration of questionnaires to assess the diffusion of disordered eating behaviours via the web is becoming common today. The aim of this study is to assess whether two different approaches of administering a test to assess traits of eating disorders (EDs), orthorexia nervosa (ON) and muscle dysmorphia (MD) by email recruitment and online completion (web-based survey—WBS) and by in person recruitment and paper-and-pencil completion (paper-based survey—PBS), gives different results. Methods During 2 consecutive academic years, a self-reported questionnaire consisting of questions about personal characteristics and three tests for the evaluation of ON (ORTO-15), MD (MDDI-ITA), and EDs (EAT-26) were administered to two groups of undergraduates, respectively, as a WBS and a PBS. Results The WBS response rate was 6.7% (N = 137), and the PBS response rate was 86.5% (N = 372). The WBS group showed a statistically significant higher prevalence of students with eating disordered behaviours (21.2% vs 5.4%) and registered a higher mean score on the EAT-26 test (13.5 ± 11.1 vs 6.0 ± 8.0); no differences between the two groups emerged for ON and MD prevalence and test scores. Moreover, in the WBS group, the number of students with one or more tests with test scores above the cut-off values was significantly higher (46.0% vs 32.3%). Conclusion The choice of the approach to administer a questionnaire to assess the diffusion of EDs and related issues must take into account all the factors that can result in selection bias and that can affect the reliability of the results. Level of evidence Level V, descriptive cross-sectional survey.

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Psychometric evaluation of the French version of the Düsseldorfer Orthorexia Skala (DOS) and prevalence of orthorexia nervosa among university students

Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia Bulimia and Obesity ◽

10.1007/s40519-021-01123-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Clotilde Lasson ◽

Friederike Barthels ◽

Patrick Raynal

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Psychometric Evaluation ◽

Orthorexia Nervosa ◽

French Version

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MON-P148: Prevalence of Orthorexia Nervosa of University Students Attending in Social Sciences

Clinical Nutrition ◽

10.1016/s0261-5614(16)30782-8 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. S207-S208 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

H. Kamarli ◽

I. Keser ◽

N. Seremet Kürklü

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

University Students ◽

Orthorexia Nervosa

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Orthorexia Nervosa in China: An Exploration of Phenomenology and Clinical Correlates Among University Students

Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy ◽

10.1891/jcpsy-d-19-00027 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 225-241 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xiaolu Zhou ◽

Sophie C. Schneider ◽

Sandra L. Cepeda ◽

Eric A. Storch

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Negative Evaluation ◽

Fear Of Negative Evaluation ◽

Orthorexia Nervosa ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Clinical Correlates ◽

Cultural Concepts ◽

Chinese University ◽

Anxiety And Fear

Orthorexia nervosa, characterized by pathological preoccupation with healthy eating and food purity, is conceptualized as being linked to cultural concepts of health pervasive in contemporary Western societies. However, little is known about the phenomenology and clinical correlates of orthorexia nervosa in non-Western cultures. The current study examined symptoms of orthorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation among 418 Chinese university students. A minority of participants endorsed frequent or impairing orthorexia nervosa symptoms, and females reported slightly higher severity of orthorexia nervosa symptoms than males. Orthorexia nervosa symptom severity was moderately associated with obsessive-compulsive and anxiety symptoms, and weakly associated with depressive symptoms and fear of negative evaluation. Although this study generates initial data about orthorexia nervosa among Chinese students, further research is greatly needed to establish the prevalence and clinical characteristics of orthorexia nervosa in Western and Non-Western cultures.

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