Analysis concerning nutritional behaviors in the context of the risk of orthorexia

Abstract

Orthorexia is recognized as an eating disorder, an obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorder, or a somatoform disorder. The aim of our research was to analyze nutritional behaviors for the assessment of the risk of orthorexia. The authors developed a questionnaire in which 981 respondents participated and used it as a research method. Both men and women ate mostly 4–5 meals per day (46.30% women versus 34.74% men); however, more men than women ate 1–2 meals daily (18.95% men versus 7.9% women). Both place of birth and field of study did not differ in terms of the number of meals. Moreover, it was observed that the number of meals per day was correlated with the declared time spent on planning a diet. People who ate over 3 meals per day more often indicates that they spent >3 h per day on planning their diet in comparison with people who ate only 1–2 meals. Only 17.6% of the respondents declared that they most often ate meals in a company of someone, whereas 45.3% indicated that there was no rule. The remaining 37.1% of the respondents most often consumed their meals alone. Almost twice as many men as women never paid attention to the qualitative composition of nutrition. Women followed a slimming diet more often than men (20.3% versus 5.8%) and this indicated >4 attempts of losing weight. Around one-third of all the respondents suffered or suffer from eating disorders. Owing to insufficient information on orthorexia, it is essential to conduct further research to determine the characteristics of high-risk groups. Taking the growing interest in a healthy lifestyle into account, there is a need to address the problem of orthorexia in the public space.

Attitudes towards ‘superfood’ depending on the risk of orthorexia among students in Poland and The Netherlands

“…More women were involved in this study, which has also been observed in other studies [2,10,11,12]. The lack of…”

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

“…The findings of some studies suggest that most of the strictly followed diets may lead to ON [1]. The prevalence of ON is higher among individuals who follow a vegetarian, vegan, fruitarian, macrobiotic, or raw food diet [19,20] and among those who are involved in the animal welfare organizations and the supporters of organic and nongenetically modified foods [21]. ON is also related to healthy lifestyle choices, such as higher intake of fruits and vegetables, lower intake of white cereals, shopping only in healthy food stores, and reduced consumption of alcohol [18].…”

How Does Orthorexia Nervosa Assessment Tools Can Differ – Comparison of Two Questionnaires: BOT and ORTO-15

“…tal organizations as well as those non-genetically modified foods. According to recent publications, the factors that increase the risk of orthorexia are: obsessive-compulsive disorder and pathological attitudes to nutrition (Olejniczak et al, 2017). Persons suffering from orthorexia are usually characterized with normal body weight, mild overweight, or underweight with their body mass index is closely connected with the body metabolism (Kałędkiewicz & Doboszyńska, 2013).…”

“…Persons suffering from orthorexia are usually characterized with normal body weight, mild overweight, or underweight with their body mass index is closely connected with the body metabolism (Kałędkiewicz & Doboszyńska, 2013). In addition, those who suffer from orthorexia more often are persons with a history of episodes of eating disorders as well as those with lower education levels (Olejniczak et al, 2017).…”