Prevalence of orthorexia nervosa among medical students

TL;DR

This study found that orthorexia nervosa is common among medical students, especially females who are overweight or use weight control methods.

Contribution

The study determines the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa in medical students and identifies associated risk factors.

Findings

60% of participants scored below the threshold for orthorexia nervosa.

Orthorexia was significantly associated with female gender, overweight/obesity, and use of weight control methods.

Over a third of students used weight control methods, with diet being the most common.

Abstract

Orthorexia nervosa is defined as an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food. Recent studies currently demonstrated that students in health-oriented academic programs, highly focused on nutrition and physical exercise, are more prone to develop orthorexia nervosa than students in other educational areas.

Determine the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa in medical students and identify associated factors.

We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study in the faculty of medicine of Sfax in Tunisia, between February and April 2023. We used ORTO-15 for the assessment of orthorexia.

The research has enrolled 220 students. Their mean age was 21.40±1.68 years, with female predominance (70%). The mean Body mass index (BMI) was 22.46±4.15 kg/m2. The prevalence of overweight (BMI≥25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m2) were respectively 19.5% and 3.6%. Over a third of students (34.1%) were using means of weight control, of which the diet represented 62.66% of cases. The participants had consulted a nutritionist in 11.4% of cases. The ORTO-15 mean total score was 36.88±6.76, with a mean score of 12.95±2.69 for cognitive dimension, 13.31±2.70 for clinical dimension, and 10.61±2.52 for emotional dimension. A total of 60% of participants had a score under the threshold.

Orthorexia was significantly associated with female gender (p<10
-3), overweight or obesity (p=0.037), the use of weight control methods (p<10-3), following a diet (p<10-3), and consulting a nutritionist (p=0.009).

In our study, orthorexia seems to be quite widespread among medical students, particularly females, who are overweight or obese, and who use weight control methods.

None Declared