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The relationship between orthorexia nervosa and body composition in female students of the nutrition and dietetics department

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Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the relationship between orthorexia nervosa (ON) and eating disorder and body composition, class level, and place of residence in university students from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics. The participants (n = 136; 20.9 ± 2.0 years) were all female students, whose scores on the Orthorexia Nervosa Questionnaire (ORTO-11) and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40) indicated a prevalence of ON and eating disorder. Assessment of body composition indices (Tanita bioelectrical impedance; SC-330) of the participants showed there to be no significant difference in the EAT-40 and ORTO-11 scores in terms of body composition, class level, and place of residence. A large majority of the participants (70.6%) had high ORTO-11 scores, and a significant negative correlation (p < 0.05) was identified between the EAT-40 and ORTO-11 scores. Final results from analysis of the data showed that although abnormal orthorexic tendencies were common among the students from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, they were nonetheless able to maintain body composition within normal values.

Level of evidence

V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Marmara University, Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi Göksu Mah. Cuma Yolu Cad. No:1, Beykoz, PK. 34815, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ani Agopyan & Meral Kucuk Yetgin

  2. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bahcesehir University, Ihlamur Yıldız Cad. No:10 Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi Kuzey Kampüsü, Beşiktaş, PK. 34353, Istanbul, Turkey

    Emre Batuhan Kenger, Mutlu Tuce Ulker & Mustafa Ataberk Uzsoy

  3. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kultur University, Şirinevler Yerleşkesi, Hürriyet Mah. Sümbük Sok. No:22 C Blok, Şirinevler, PK. 34188, Istanbul, Turkey

    Seda Kermen

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  1. Ani Agopyan
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  2. Emre Batuhan Kenger
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Correspondence to Ani Agopyan.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The research proposal was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Bahcesehir. All procedures performed 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.

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

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This article is part of the topical collection on Orthorexia Nervosa.

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Agopyan, A., Kenger, E.B., Kermen, S. et al. The relationship between orthorexia nervosa and body composition in female students of the nutrition and dietetics department. Eat Weight Disord 24, 257–266 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0565-3

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