Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.31895/hcptbn.17.1-2.3
Body image and prevalence of orthorexia nervosa in young population in Croatia
Klara Rađa
; Prehrambeno-biotehnološki fakultet, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Anja Vukomanović
; Prehrambeno-biotehnološki fakultet, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Ines Panjkota Krbavčić
; Prehrambeno-biotehnološki fakultet, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The prevalence of eating disorders in young people is steadily increasing, which brings orthorexia nervosa into focus, especially in pandemic and stress-related periods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa in young people and relate it to anthropometric parameters, eating habits and perception of body appearance. This study included 191 participants aged 18-24 years, of which 85,9 % females. Data on body mass and height were collected, from which body mass index was calculated, while their eating attitudes were evaluated by using 5-point scale. The prevalence of orthorexia nervosa was assessed using the ORTO-15 questionnaire, while the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale - Revised (PACS-R) was used to assess participant’s appearance comparison tendencies with other people. It was found that 38.2% of the respondents had orthorexia nervosa. There were no statistically significant differences in the body mass index between the participants with or without the diagnosis of orthorexia (p=0.276). Nevertheless, in the group of participants not diagnosed with orthorexia, those with adequate body weight predominated (89.9%), while among subjects diagnosed with orthorexia the proportions of undernourished (8.2%) and overweight participants (15.1%) were higher. Participants with orthorexia found a healthy diet more important than subjects without orthorexia (p=0.001), while there were no statistically significant differences in self-rated diet quality between the two groups (p=0.815). Furthermore, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the results of PACS-R and ORTO-15 (p<0.01). Ultimately, there was a statistically significant difference in the results of PACS-R between participants with or without the diagnosis of orthorexia (p=0.032). High share of participants was diagnosed with orthorexia nervosa. Even though young people who developed orthorexia nervosa mostly had normal body weight, they had a greater tendency to compare their physical appearance to the appearance of others, what indicated distorted perception of their own body image. This brings to attention the importance of educating young people, especially female, about healthy diet, and confirms the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach in treating orthorexia nervosa, including psychological support.
Ključne riječi
eating disorder, orthorexia nervosa, ORTO-15, PACS-R
Hrčak ID:
287189
URI
Datum izdavanja:
14.12.2022.
Posjeta: 610 *