Prevalence of Orthorexia Nervosa in Spanish university students: relationship with body image and eating disorders

Abstract

Background. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of ON and analyze its relationship with selfimage and ED behavior in university students.

Method. Crosssectional study with a sample of 534 Spanish university students, 422 women and 112 men with an age mean of 22,04 (SD= 3,41). Questionnaires administered: a sociodemographic and lifestyle questionnaire, the ORTHO11Es, the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS), the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ45) and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT26).

Results. 30,5% of the sample were on high risk of developing ON. Higher orthorexic tendencies were observed in women. Those at high risk of ON showed higher BMI, higher proportion of veganism/vegetarianism and significantly higher scores on the MBSRQ45 (p=,00) and EAT26 (p=,00).

Conclusions. Results showed a high prevalence of ON and its relationship with a worse selfimage, concern with physical appearance and ED behaviors.