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Orthorexia nervosa in a sample of Portuguese fitness participants

Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity volume 23, pages 443–451 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is described as an obsessive behaviour motivated by great concern for following a healthy diet. Although it was first described in 1997, ON remains inconspicuous and poorly characterized in the literature. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of ON in a sample of ambulatory individuals and to investigate their common characteristics, attempting to better characterize this entity.

Methods

A non-random sample of 193 adult gym members answered a questionnaire based on a Portuguese version of ORTO-15, supplemented with additional questions. Possible associations between the different variables and pathological scores on ORTO-15 were analysed using logistic regression models.

Results

ON behaviour was documented in 51.8% of the sample, mean age 30.96 years (± 1.03 years), and this condition tended to be correlated with younger ages. Physical appearance and frequent exercising were also associated with ON, while no correlation between orthorexic tendencies and both gender and educational field was found. Furthermore, consumption of special food, dissatisfaction with physical appearance and frequent exercising could predict the presence of ON in the sample.

Conclusions

Despite the use of a convenience sample, results place us in a different perspective, considering the idea that orthorexic individuals are exclusively concerned about pursuing a pure diet. The presence of ON was associated with other non-dietary behaviours allied to a healthy lifestyle and aesthetic concerns.

Level of evidence

Level V: Descriptive study.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Emília Nogueira, Ph.D and Esmeralda Gonçalves, Ph.D for the statistical component of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Carolina Almeida, Vânia Vieira Borba & Lèlita Santos

  2. Internal Medicine A Department, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Vânia Vieira Borba & Lèlita Santos

Authors
  1. Carolina Almeida
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  2. Vânia Vieira Borba
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  3. Lèlita Santos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carolina Almeida.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

This article is part of topical collection on Orthorexia Nervosa.

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Almeida, C., Vieira Borba, V. & Santos, L. Orthorexia nervosa in a sample of Portuguese fitness participants. Eat Weight Disord 23, 443–451 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0517-y

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Keywords

  • Orthorexia nervosa
  • ORTO-15
  • Eating disorders
  • Lifestyle
  • Physical appearance
  • Exercise