Traits of orthorexia nervosa and the determinants of these behaviors in elite athletes

In this study by Surała et al. (2020), the authors investigated orthorexia nervosa (ON – the unhealthy focus on eating healthy food) and how it impacts body composition and body anthropometry. In a population of 273 competitive athletes (females = 125, males = 148) they used a self-administered ORTO-15 questionnaire to evaluate ON and a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to evaluate total body composition. The results revealed a positive relationship between ORTO-15 scores and total body mass (TBM), bone mineral content (BMC), body mass index (BMI), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and lean soft tissue in male athletes, and with BMI and BMC in weight-dependent male athletes. No significant relationships were discovered between ORTO-15 scores and other parameters concerning female athletes or the overall group of athletes. A substantial relationship was seen in female athletes between ON and weekly training time in the sprint and high-intensity intermittent effort groups only. Therefore, the authors draw the conclusion that ON impacts BMI and body composition in male athletes, and the time spent training weekly as a female athlete, in addition to highlighting that a substantial portion of athletes may be susceptible to ON regardless of sex, sport, age, or time spent training every week. [NPID: DXA, body composition, ORTO-15, athletes, sex, type of sports]

Year: 2020

Reference: Surała, O., Malczewska-Lenczowska, J., Sadowska, D., Grabowska, I., & Białecka-Dębek, A. (2020). Traits of Orthorexia Nervosa and the Determinants of These Behaviors in Elite Athletes. Nutrients, 12(9), 2683. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12092683