Prevalence Of Orthorexia Nervosa Among Polish Adolescents – Assessment Made By The Orto-15 Questionnaire

Abstract

ObjectiveOrthorexia nervosa (ON) is an excessive fixation on the consumption of healthy food and an obsession with its biological purity. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of ON in a population of Polish urban adolescents and some possible contributory factors.MethodValidation and adaptation of the ORTO-15 Questionnaire was made in the group of 399 participants (15–21 years old). The validation procedure incorporated three basic methods to be applied in the reliability analysis. The reliability analysis of the ORTO-15 Questionnaire based on repeatability of the responses presents a very good (kappa: 0.81–1.00 for 5 items) and a good repeatability (kappa: 0.61–0.80 for 10 items). The reliability analysis based on the value of the Cronbach's α reached a satisfactory level (0.7–0.9). The ORTO-15 questionnaire was considered a reliable tool to identify the risk of ON in population studies in the group of urban youth aged 15–21. Assessment was made among 1899 high school students, 992 girls, and 907 boys, aged 15–21 years.ResultsThe mean value of the ORTO-15 was 39.2 ± 3.6 points, with no sex difference. The main factors connected with orthorexia, according to the “Orthorexia 35” definition were excess weight, sporting activities, out-of-school activities, smoking status, working parents and a high family income.ConclusionsThis study, of a large number of adolescents, showed a prevalence of ON similar to that recorded in adult populations. This is a first assessment of orthorexia among adolescent population.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Orthorexia nervosa: replication and validation of the ORTO questionnaires translated into Greek in a survey of 848 Greek individuals

“…However, the importance of using representative samples in orthorexia has recently been stressed by Hay [ 44 ] with the aim of categorizing ON as a disorder. Translations of ORTO-15 into other languages resulted in Cronbach’s α of 0.67–0.80 for the Spanish and Austrian [ 45 – 47 ], 0.62 for the Turkish [ 48 ], 0.644–0.9 for the Polish [ 49 , 50 ], and 0.72 for the German version [ 51 ]. On the other hand, a limited number of studies have translated, validated, and used ORTO-R in other languages to date.…”

Selective attentional bias to food-related stimuli in healthy individuals with characteristics towards orthorexia nervosa

“…ON tendencies have been measured in a variety of populations including medical students [ 2 ], nutritionists [ 3 ], dietitians [ 4 ], medical doctors [ 5 ], performance artists [ 6 ], athletes [ 7 ] and yoga practitioners [ 8 ]. Orthorexia nervosa does not appear to be age-related [ 9 ] and the evidence base with respect to gender disparities is at present equivocal [ 7 , 10 , 11 ].…”

Overall proportion of orthorexia nervosa symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis including 30 476 individuals from 18 countries

“…The remaining two studies [ 20 , 56 ] did not report proportions stratified by sex. In terms of geographical regions, 18 different countries were identified, including 35 studies in Europe [ 20 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 38 - 43 , 46 , 55 - 60 , 65 , 66 , 70 , 74 - 79 , 81 - 83 , 88 , 90 , 94 - 96 , 101 ], 18 in Asia [ 29 , 31 , 34 , 37 , 47 , 48 , 51 - 53 , 61 , 62 , 68 , 87 , 89 , 97 - 100 ], 12 in South America [ 36 , 44 , 45 , 50 , 54 , 67 , 72 , 73 , 80 , 85 , 86 , 91 ], five in North America [ 10 , 49 , 63 , 71 , 93 ], and one in Oceania [ 84 ]. Two studies did not specify the country since it was performed via social media [ 64 , 92 ].…”