Prevalence of Orthorexia Nervosa in a Sample of Rock and Sport Climbers

Abstract

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a disorder characterized by obsessive behavior towards healthy eating. Some groups present a higher prevalence of ON and athletes seems to be a population at risk. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ON in the rock and sport climbing community. population using two different questionnaires. Düsseldorf Orthorexia Scale (PL-DOS) was used to assess ON. The study involved 236 climbers (including 159 men and 77 women, 67.4 and 32.6%, respectively), with an average age of 34.7±9.2 years. The group was divided into groups according to criteria such as the preferred type and style of climbing, participation in climbing competitions or the volume of training undertaken. Orthorexia was diagnosed in 12.7% (n=30) of climbers, with a mean score of PL-DOS of 32.8±2.4 with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 31.9 to 33.7. Another 25% of the respondents were diagnosed with ON risk (mean±SD 26.8±1.5, 95% CI 36.4-27.2). It was not found that the adopted stratification variables significantly differentiated the groups distinguished on their basis. The only exceptions were age and weekly training frequency. However, the effect sizes were small in both cases.