Validation of the Arabic version of the Dusseldorf Orthorexia Scale (DOS) among Lebanese adolescents

Abstract Background Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is defined as a pathological preoccupation characterized by obsessive beliefs and compulsive behaviors regarding 'pure' eating behaviors. Many scales have been established and display good results regarding reliability and validity measures, including but not limited to ORTO-R (revised version of ORTO-15), Eating Habits Questionnaire, Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS) and the Düsseldorf Orthorexia Scale (DOS). Among these, the DOS seems to be a promising measure for multiple reasons. The current paper aims to validate the DOS, a measure of ON, in a non-Western population of Lebanese adolescents. Methods This was a cross-sectional designed study, conducted between May and June 2020, which enrolled 555 adolescents (15–18 years old; 75.7% females). Due the coronavirus pandemic outbreak, the data were gathered through snowball sampling using an online questionnaire. The DOS, TOS and ORTO-R scales were used in this study to screen for orthorexic tendencies and behaviors. Results We tested four competing structural models of the DOS assessing its factorial validity. The results of the current investigation revealed that the one-factorial model is the best one to represent the structure of the questionnaire. We provided evidence for validity for the DOS through demonstrating that it correlates significantly with other measures of orthorexic behaviours (Teruel Orthorexia Scale and ORTO-R). Finally, we have gathered evidence that the orthorexic behaviours as measured by DOS are not associated with age (r = −.02; p = .589), household crowding index (r = .02; p = .578), and Body Mass Index (r = .04; p = .297). Yet, females as compared to males achieved higher scores (M = 20.07, SD = 6.38 vs M = 18.29, SD = 6.37; p = .005; d = .28). Conclusion The Arabic version of the DOS seems to be a structurally valid and internally consistent questionnaire measuring orthorexic eating behavior in a sample of Lebanese adolescents. This tool may be useful for psychologists, psychiatrists, dietitians and other clinicians in the assessment and the treatment of the multidimensional nature of ON.

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Eating Habits during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy: The Nutritional and Lifestyle Side Effects of the Pandemic

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13072279 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 2279

Author(s):

Federica Grant ◽

Maria Luisa Scalvedi ◽

Umberto Scognamiglio ◽

Aida Turrini ◽

Laura Rossi

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

Eating Habits ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Waste Prevention ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Nutritional Recommendations ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

Excessive Consumption

To limit the spread of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, a nationwide lockdown started in Italy in March 2020. In this unpredictable situation, a cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was carried out by the Observatory on Food Surplus, Recovery and Waste of CREA Food and Nutrition Centre. The aim of this work was to evaluate how Italian habits changed during this period, the determinants of changes, and the effect on food waste prevention. In a sample of 2678 respondents, 62% showed low Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (AMD). During lockdown many of participants improved the quality of their diet, increasing their consumption of fruit (24.4%), vegetables (28.5%), legumes (22.1%), nuts (12%), and fish or shellfish (14%). Unfavorable changes were observed with the excessive consumption of sweets or pastries (36.9%) and comfort foods (22.7%), and a lack of physical activity (37.2%). The main novelty of this study was the examination of dietary changes identified by a cluster analysis. Respondents with generally high AMD improved their eating habits, while the habits of the respondents with generally low AMD remained unchanged. In addition, nearly 80% of respondents were sensitive to food waste. The study provides a useful contribution to the debate on nutritional recommendations in case of further lockdown.

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Intimate Partner Violence and its Mental Health Implications Amid COVID-19 Lockdown: Findings Among Nigerian Couples

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/08862605211015213 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052110152

Author(s):

Margaret Isioma Ojeahere ◽

Sahmicit Kankemwa Kumswa ◽

Frances Adiukwu ◽

Janet Punyit Plang ◽

Yetunde Folake Taiwo

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Health Consequences ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Implications

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a global health problem with increasing mental health consequences. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Nigeria, couples were compelled to spend more time together, regardless of their pre-existing challenges. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of IPV, its forms, and mental health implications among Nigerian households amid the COVID-19 lockdown. A cross-sectional study was implemented which used the snowball sampling technique to recruit 474 participants across 31 states in Nigeria. A semi-structured online questionnaire was distributed using the WhatsApp platform. The relationship between IPV, its forms, and associated factors were analyzed using descriptive analysis and logistic regression with significant value at p ≤ .05 and confidence interval of 95%. Majority (98.1%) of the participants had at least a college degree and 90.1% were employed. Overall prevalence of IPV ranged from 7.2% to 13.5%. Using the lockdown as the landmark, higher prevalence was found before than during the lockdown across physical, emotional, financial, and sexual forms of IPV. Emotional form had the highest prevalence both before and during the lockdown with 11.4% and 3.8% respectively. Furthermore, 22.6% of participants reported that the lockdown affected their mental health. Hopelessness, feelings of failure, being irritable, and constantly under strain were psychological symptoms significantly associated with IPV amid the lockdown. Decreased prevalence of IPV were found in the early phase of the pandemic, suggesting that couples can experience less partner violence during periods of confinement. Our study supports existing evidence that forms of IPV have negative mental health consequences on abused partners.

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Relationship between Peer Pressure and Risk of Eating Disorders among Adolescents in Jordan

Journal of Obesity ◽

10.1155/2018/7309878 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nihaya A. Al-sheyab ◽

Tamer Gharaibeh ◽

Khalid Kheirallah

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorders ◽

Disordered Eating ◽

Peer Influence ◽

Eating Behaviors ◽

Peer Pressure ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cluster Sampling ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Disordered Eating Behaviors

Background. The prevalence of disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) have increased worldwide. It is estimated that about 31.6% of Jordanian adolescents developed DEB. Engaging in peer groups is a prominent event in which adolescents try to belong to peers as part of exploring their social identity. Purpose. To assess the relationship between risk of eating disorders and peer pressure among adolescents. Methods. A descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional design utilized multistage cluster sampling technique was used to recruit students from 8th to 10th grades from both sexes from schools in northern Jordan. Data were collected from a self-administered, online questionnaire which was given to 738 participants. Results. The difference in overall mean of the Inventory of Peer Influence on Eating Concerns (I-PIEC) between adolescents with disordered eating behaviors and normal eating behaviors states was statistically significant. Scores for interaction peer pressure means were statistically higher for girls than for boys; conversely, likeability mean scores were statistically higher for boys than girls. Conclusions. The current findings suggest that healthcare professionals are encouraged to conduct appropriate school-based primary prevention for disordered eating behaviors.

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Factors influencing users' willingness to share health information in the social question-and-answer community represented by Zhihu: An online questionnaire survey (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26265 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

PengFei Li ◽

Lin Xu ◽

TingT Tang ◽

Xiaoqian Wu ◽

Cheng Huang

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Influencing Factors ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Social Question ◽

The Social ◽

Question And Answer

BACKGROUND Social Q&A communities are playing an increasingly important role in the dissemination of health information. The identification of influencing factors of user willingness to share health information (WSHI) is very important to improve public health literacy. OBJECTIVE in order to provide a reference for the construction of high-quality health information sharing community, this paper studied the influencing factors of social question-and-answer community users sharing health information. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted through snowball sampling among 921 users of Zhihu in China. Structural equation analysis was used to verify the interaction and influence strength between variables in the model. Hierarchical regression was also used to test the mediating effect in the model. RESULTS Altruism (AL, β=0.264, P＜0.001), Intrinsic Reward (IR, β=0.260, P＜0.05), Self-Efficacy (SE, β=0.468, P＜0.001) and Community Influence (CI, β=0.277, P＜0.01) had a positive effect while Extrinsic Reward (ER, β=0.351, P＜0.001) had a negative effect on WSHI. SE also had a mediating effect (βmediation=0.147, 29.15%, 0.147/0.505) between CI and WSHI. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that WSHI is simultaneously influenced by many factors such as AL, SE, CI and IR. Improving the social atmosphere of the platform is an effective method to encourage users to share health information.

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Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice Related to COVID-19 Among Healthcare Workers in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-sectional Study.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-770359/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Amina M. Al Marzouqi ◽

Michael E. Otim ◽

Heba H. Hijazi ◽

Leena S. Kehail ◽

Ramsha A. Kamal

Keyword(s):

United Arab Emirates ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Healthcare Facilities ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Abstract Objectives: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is a global health pandemic that continues to have an impact on many aspects of everyday life. This study investigates the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) related to COVID-19 among healthcare workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: This study uses a cross-sectional study design. The original data were collected using an online questionnaire distributed via a Google Forms link. Participants were healthcare workers currently working in the UAE healthcare facilities and recruited using snowball sampling. The questionnaire collected information on demographic variables and COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practice.Results: In total, the sample of 107 healthcare workers completed the survey. About 92% of the participants worked in public institutions, 87% were from Dubai, and 673% were female. The majority were aged 31–40 years (34.6%), and 43% were radiographers. 66.4% held bachelor’s degrees and Indian nationalities were (28%) and the Philippinos were (28%). Most (90.7%) participants knew the absence of fever did not mean that the virus could not transmit from an infected person, and 84.1% agreed that wearing general medical masks prevented one from contracting COVID-19. However, only 36.4% strongly believed that wearing a well-fitting face mask was effective. In addition, only 15.9% reported confidently managing patients with symptoms of COVID-19, and 54.2% reported that they were afraid of contracting the virus from patients. Almost half of the participants avoided patients who had symptoms of COVID-19. Conclusion: Overall, healthcare workers’ COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices for healthcare workers in UAE healthcare facilities was very high. However, we found gaps in awareness regarding the spread of the pandemic. Our study recommends that providing healthcare workers with education programs and counseling services would help increase their confidence in treating patients with COVID-19.

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Eating Habits of Children Born after Maternal Bariatric Surgery

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12092577 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 2577

Author(s):

Karolien Van De Maele ◽

Charlotte De Geyter ◽

Yvan Vandenplas ◽

Inge Gies ◽

Roland Devlieger

Keyword(s):

Bariatric Surgery ◽

Eating Behaviors ◽

Eating Habits ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Control Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Meal Skipping ◽

Unhealthy Eating

Mothers who underwent bariatric surgery (BS) before pregnancy have worrisome eating habits, but little is known about the eating habits of their offspring. EFFECTOR is a cross-sectional, long-term follow-up study of 4–11-year-old children born from mothers that underwent bariatric surgery before pregnancy (n = 36), mothers with overweight/obesity (OW/OB) in a control group (n = 71), and mothers with a normal weight (NW) in a second control group (n = 35). Data on anthropometry and on eating habits obtained through a Food Frequency Questionnaire were collected prospectively. The children’s body mass index (BMI) scores significantly correlated with maternal pre-pregnancy BMI. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was the highest in children of the BS group (38.9% vs. 15.5% for children of the OW/OB group and 5.7% for those of the NW group; p = 0.004). Meal-skipping behavior was comparable between the groups. There was no difference in fruit and vegetable consumption. The BS group consumed more low-calorie sweetened beverages compared to the NW group (p = 0.01) but less fruit juice compared to the NW and OW/OB groups (p = 0.01). Our results may indicate a sugar-avoiding behavior in children of the BS group, fitting dietary maternal habits in a strategy to prevent dumping syndrome. In conclusion, maternal pre-pregnancy bariatric surgery does not alter unhealthy eating behaviors and the risk of development of overweight during childhood in their children.

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Orthorexic Tendency and Eating Disorders Symptoms in Polish Students: Examining Differences in Eating Behaviors

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12010218 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 218 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Marta Plichta ◽

Marzena Jezewska-Zychowicz

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorders ◽

Eating Behaviors ◽

Eating Habits ◽

Meat Products ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

High Fiber ◽

High Sugar ◽

Special Diet ◽

The Difference

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) may precede, ensue, or coexist with eating disorders (ED) and also affect eating behaviors. The aim of this study was to explore the dietary patterns (DPs) and other eating habits of people showing ON tendency, ED symptoms, and both ON tendency and ED symptoms, as well as those not showing either. The data for the study were collected from a sample of 1120 Polish college students through a cross-sectional survey in 2017. The questionnaire used in the survey included the ORTO-15, the Eating Disorder Screen for Primary Care (ESP), and the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ-6), and the students were also asked questions about their eating habits and special diets. A factor analysis was conducted to identify the following five DPs: “high-sugar products and refined products,” “meat and meat products,” “alcohol,” “high-fiber products and nuts,” and “dairy products and whole-meal bread.” Univariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to verify the associations between the variables. Students in the “ON and without ED” group were found to exhibit more healthy eating habits than the students in the “ED and without ON” group. The use of a special diet in the past and currently increased the risk of displaying ON tendency and ED symptoms. Students in the “ON and without ED” and “ON and ED” groups were characterized by less frequent consumption of high-sugar and refined products. Students who rarely consumed meat and related products were found to be less likely to display “ON and ED.” In conclusion, different eating habits shown by people with ON tendency and ED symptoms confirmed the difference between ON and ED. However, the simultaneous displaying of ON and ED leads to the overlapping of specificity of eating habits, which can make the diagnosis based only on the eating habits difficult. Thus, there is still a need for further research involving the use of more sensitive tools that can better identify ON tendency and ED symptoms, as well as DPs.

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Association of Differences in Dietary Behaviours and Lifestyle with Self-Reported Weight Gain during the COVID-19 Lockdown in a University Community from Chile: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13093213 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 3213

Author(s):

Addi Rhode Navarro-Cruz ◽

Ashuin Kammar-García ◽

Javier Mancilla-Galindo ◽

Gladys Quezada-Figueroa ◽

Mariana Tlalpa-Prisco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Weight Gain ◽

Eating Habits ◽

Emotional Health ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Food Groups ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Dietary Behaviours ◽

The Impact ◽

University Community

Domiciliary confinement of people is one of the main strategies to limit the impact of COVID-19. Lockdowns have led to changes in lifestyle, emotional health, and eating habits. We aimed to evaluate the association of differences in dietary behaviours and lifestyle with self-reported weight gain during the COVID-19 lockdown in Chile. In this cross-sectional analytical study, five previously validated surveys were condensed into a single 86-item online questionnaire. The survey was sent to 1000 potential participants of the university community; it was kept online for 28 days to be answered. Of the 639 respondents, the mean self-reported weight gain during confinement was 1.99 kg (standard deviation [SE]: 0.17) and 0.7 (SE: 0.06) units of body mass index (BMI) (both p < 0.001) and the median difference in body weight during lockdown was 3.3% (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.0–6.7). The differences of intake of most food groups before and during lockdown were associated with greater self-reported weight, BMI and percentage weight gain. Differences in lifestyle (odds ratio [OR] = 14.21, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 2.35–85.82) worsening eating habits (OR = 3.43, 95%CI: 2.31–5.09), and more consumption of sweet or filled cookies and cakes during lockdown (OR = 2.11, 95%CI: 1.42–3.13) were associated with self-reported weight gain. In conclusion, different dietary behaviours (mainly consumption of industrialized foods) during lockdown, as well as quality of life deterioration were the main factors associated with self-reported weight gain during lockdown.

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Less Experienced but Healthier: Health Behaviors of Medical Students Compared With Practicing Physicians

10.21203/rs.3.rs-97170/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel Wilf Miron ◽

Ilya Kagan ◽

Mor Saban

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Health Behaviors ◽

Emotional Stress ◽

Role Models ◽

Healthy Lifestyle ◽

Eating Habits ◽

Female Gender ◽

Perceived Health ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional

Abstract BackgroundWe examined health behaviors and perceptions among medical students and compared them with the results of a previous survey among residents and senior physicians. MethodsThis cross–sectional study was performed among second-year medical students (2015-2018) and among physicians (2015) using an online questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. ResultsSignificantly more physicians perceived their health as bad, compared with students. Half of the residents, compared with one-third of senior physicians and one-fifth of students, reported high emotional stress. Residents reported the worst, and students - the best, eating habits. Logistic regression models demonstrated that lower emotional stress, healthy eating habits, adequate sleep, lower body mass index and not having a regular physician, explained good perceived health. Female gender, being a resident, bad perceived health, unhealthy eating habits, less sleep and not having a regular physician, were correlated with high emotional stress. ConclusionsThe healthy lifestyle of medical students declines towards residency. Given the workload and emotional stress of their chosen profession, it is advised that medical school curriculum provide students with measures to help them gain more years of healthy life, allowing students and physicians to be better role models and the healthcare system to perform better.

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How COVID-19 is Affecting Apprentices

BioMedica ◽

10.51441/biomedica//biomedica/5-423 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (2S) ◽

pp. 265-269

Author(s):

Shamaila Hassnain ◽

Naureen Omar

Keyword(s):

Survey Design ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

World Health ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The World

Background and Objective: Coronavirus induced disease (COVID-19) is affecting people all around the world. The rising number of deaths due to COVID-19 is not only harassing people but also causing strong emotions in adults as well as in children due to anxiety, fear and stress. The objective of this study was to assess the fears, anxiety and stress due to COVID-19 pandemic and related issues among the apprentices at various levels in different parts of world. Methods: It was a cross sectional survey design to assess the students/trainee’s immediate psychological response during COVID-19 outbreak by using an anonymous online questionnaire. A snowball sampling technique was conducted focusing general public all around the world from 3rd April 2020 till 7th April 2020. A total of N=354 participants filled the form completely. The structured questionnaire collected information on demographic data and psychological aspect of this outbreak, including extreme fear and uncertainty. Results: A total of N = 354 participants completed the questionnaire; majority were from the age group of 21–30 years. Approximately 66.4% were females and 33.6% males. Participants from Asia were 83.6% while 9.9%, 3.4%, 2.8% and 1% from America/Canada, Europe, Africa and Australia respectively. Out of n = 354 participants 59.3% were relying on health professionals for authentic source of information regarding COVID-19 while 16.4%, 15% and 5.4% considered social media, television and World Health Organization (WHO) website respectively as their authentic guide. Out of the (n = 354) participants 80.5% were afraid about health status during COVID-19 most predominantly females (66.3%) (P = 0.000). A total of 65.8% participants felt agitated or irritated in this outbreak. Conclusion: COVID-19 lockdowns are affecting both physical and mental health of students and apprentices enrolled at different levels of education. Females are more affected and concerned to their loved ones and themselves. Working norms are being maintained and responsibilities are being fulfilled despite this grave situation.

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