# Physical Activity Enjoyment and Orthorexic Eating Behaviours in Turkish Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

## TL;DR

Enjoyment of physical activity is not linked to orthorexic eating in Turkish adults, but higher BMI and healthy diet self-perception are modestly associated.

## Contribution

This study is the first to examine the relationship between physical activity enjoyment and orthorexic tendencies in a Turkish adult population.

## Key findings

- Enjoyment of physical activity showed no meaningful association with orthorexic tendencies.
- Higher BMI and self-identification of a healthy and balanced diet were modestly linked to orthorexic symptoms.
- Physical activity status had minimal impact on orthorexic behaviors, mainly in the Behavioral domain.

## Abstract

What are the main findings?
Enjoyment of physical activity was not meaningfully associated with orthorexic tendencies in adults.Orthorexic symptoms were modestly related to higher BMI and self-identifying one’s diet as healthy and balanced.

Enjoyment of physical activity was not meaningfully associated with orthorexic tendencies in adults.

Orthorexic symptoms were modestly related to higher BMI and self-identifying one’s diet as healthy and balanced.

What are the implications of the main findings?
Pleasure derived from physical activity does not appear to be a key factor in orthorexic eating in non-clinical populations.Weight status and diet-related self-perceptions may be more relevant targets for understanding and assessing orthorexic tendencies.

Pleasure derived from physical activity does not appear to be a key factor in orthorexic eating in non-clinical populations.

Weight status and diet-related self-perceptions may be more relevant targets for understanding and assessing orthorexic tendencies.

Background: Orthorexic eating reflects a rigid preoccupation with healthy eating that often co-occurs with health-oriented lifestyles, yet the affective experience of physical activity has received little attention. This study examined whether enjoyment of physical activity is associated with orthorexic tendencies in adults and whether it explains variance beyond age, body mass index (BMI), physical activity status, and self-rated diet. Methods: Adults (N = 434; M_age = 27.55) recruited online in Türkiye completed a survey including the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES), the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI), and sociodemographic, BMI, physical activity, and diet items. Pearson correlations and one-way ANOVAs assessed bivariate associations, and hierarchical regressions tested whether PACES added incremental variance to ONI total and domain scores beyond covariates. Results: PACES scores showed a near-zero correlation with ONI total (r ≈ 0.02) and did not add variance in regression models (ΔR2 ≈ 0.00). Higher BMI and identifying one’s diet as “healthy and balanced” were linked to modestly higher ONI total and Impairments/Emotions scores, while differences in physical activity status were small and mainly limited to the Behavioural domain. Conclusions: In this non-clinical sample of Turkish adults, enjoyment of physical activity was not meaningfully associated with orthorexic tendencies. These findings suggest that enjoyment-focused physical activity promotion can be encouraged without increasing orthorexic symptoms, while replication in clinical/high-risk groups (e.g., elite/professional athletes and clinical eating disorder patients) and longitudinal designs is warranted.