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Orthorexia symptoms correlate with perceived muscularity and body fat, not BMI

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This study explored how different body-type measures relate to orthorexia symptomatology.

Method

Participants were 465 undergraduates, who completed an online survey with self-reported height and weight items, a muscularity figure rating scale, a body fat figure rating scale, and the Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ; Gleaves, Graham, & Ambwani, 2013).

Results

BMI was not significantly related to any of the EHQ subscale scores. In contrast, muscularity rating was positively related to all EHQ subscale scores: Behaviors (p < .001), Problems (p = .014), and Feelings (p = .003). Additionally, body fat rating was negatively correlated with two EHQ subscale scores: Behaviors (p < .001) and Feelings (p = .008). None of these relationships varied as a function of gender.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that orthorexia symptomatology, while unrelated to BMI, is greater for individuals who perceive themselves as having a relatively muscular, lean body type.

Level of evidence

Level V, descriptive cross-sectional study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Texas State University, 601 University Dr., San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA

    Crystal D. Oberle & Shelby L. Lipschuetz

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  1. Crystal D. Oberle
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  2. Shelby L. Lipschuetz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Crystal D. Oberle.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Texas State University Institutional Review Board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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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Oberle, C.D., Lipschuetz, S.L. Orthorexia symptoms correlate with perceived muscularity and body fat, not BMI. Eat Weight Disord 23, 363–368 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0508-z

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