The Relationship of Orthorexia Nervosa with Vocational Education, Gender, BMI, Body Perception, and Self-Esteem in University Students: A Controlled Study in a Turkish Sample

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between orthorexia nervosa (ON) and vocational education, gender, BMI, body perception, and self-esteem in university students. Method: The study was conducted on a total of 500 volunteer students studying in health and nonhealth departments of a state university. The Ortho-15 test, Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Test (MOCI), Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, and Body Perception Scale (BPS) were administered to the students along with a questionnaire to determine their demographic characteristics. Results: According to the Ortho-15 test score, it was determined that medical school students had the lowest scores, that is, the highest orthorexic tendencies. However, when the distribution of the groups in terms of ON prevalence according to the Ortho-15 cutoff score < 35 was examined, the frequency of orthorexic tendency was found to be higher in students studying in nonhealth faculties (38.4% vs. 61.6%; p < 0.05). The Ortho-15 test score of females (38.60 +/- 3.87) was higher than that of males (37.53 +/- 3.21) (p < 0.001). When those with and without ON tendency were compared in terms of test scores, a significant difference was found only in terms of MOCI scores. Obsessive symptom scores of those with orthorexic tendency (15.41 +/- 6.63) were higher than those without ON (13.59 +/- 6.40) (p < 0.05).There was no significant difference between the faculties in terms of CSEI scores. Furthermore, in our study, the decrease in MOCI and Ortho-15 scores as BMI increases indicates that obsessive symptoms decrease but orthorexic tendency increases as BMI increases. Conclusion: It was thought that these results distinguish ON from other eating disorders and that ON may be more suitable for the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder classification.