Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Αντιμετώπιση Εξαρτήσεων-ΕξαρτησιολογίαLibrary of the School of Health Sciences
Supervisors info:
Γονιδάκης Φραγκίσκος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Iατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Λαζαράτου Ελένη, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Τριανταφύλλου Καλλιόπη, Διδάκτωρ, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Ορθορεξία: Συχνότητα εμφάνισης και η σχέση της με ψυχοκοινωνικούς παράγοντες σε δείγμα ενηλίκων στην Ελλάδα
Translated title:
The prevalence of Orthorexia in a Greek sample and its relationship with psychosocial factors
Summary:
Introduction: Links between diet, physical and mental health have systematically been reported. Orthorexia Nervosa is a relatively new eating pathology characterized by an obsessive fixation on eating healthily for the purpose of achieving health and can be harmful to the individual. Purpose: Τhe main purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Orthorexia Nervosa in a non-clinical sample aged between 18 and 35 years and its relationship with other factors (obsessive-compulsive symptoms, social physique anxiety, Instagram). Method: 249 adults (18-35 years) completed a self-administered online questionnaire consisting of four measures: ORTO-15, Obsessive Compulsive Inventory Revised (OCI-R), Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS) and a short 4-questions scale created to assess Instagram use.
Results: According to the results, 30.1% of the sample (N=249) fulfilled the criteria for Orthorexia Nervosa using a cut-off point <35 at the ORTO-15 total score. Symptoms of orthorexia were related to younger age (r=.21, p<.05), lack of employment (p<.05) and partner (p<.05). Analysis of the main variables of the study revealed association of orthorexia with obsessive-compulsive symptoms (r= -.18, p<.05) but not with social physique anxiety. Those having an Instagram account had a lower ORTO-15 mean score (more orthorexia symptoms). Frequency of use (r= -.15, p< .05) and time spent (r= -.24, p<.001) on Instagram were also significantly related to orthorexia. The highest relationship was found between the frequency of viewing fitspiration images on Instagram and orthorexia (r= -.31, p<.001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that 18% of the variance at ORTO-15 was explained by age, level of education, obsessive-compulsive tendencies and high exposure to fit-oriented content on Instagram. The last one was the most powerful predictor of the model.
Conclusions: This study is one of the first attempts to investigate Orthorexia Nervosa in Greece and can provide useful information for better understanding this phenomenon. Further research is required for drawing general conclusions.
Main subject category:
Health Sciences
Keywords:
Healthy diet, Orthorexia Nervosa, Obsessive-compulsive tendencies, Social physique anxiety, Instagram
Number of references:
215
