THE EFFECT OF SELF-ESTEEM AND INCIDENCE OF ORTHOREXIA NERVOSA AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS OF HEALTH EDUCATION

Objective: This study was aimed to investigate the incidence of orthorexia nervosa among University students, educating them about the health science field and the effect of self esteem on it.

Methodology: A total of 165 volunteer students who were students of health science departments in a state University in Turkey were used for this study. Students who received nutrition education at various classes were an accepted study group (n=85), and those who had not been accepted as a control group (n=80). A questionnaire containing demographic information was administered to all participants along with Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory, Orto - 15 Test, and the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 21.0 program.

The Results: Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) frequency was found to be 66.46% and the female / male ratio was 3:1 respectively. In the study group, obsessive-compulsive symptoms score were lower and self-esteem scores were higher (p <0.001). A significant negative correlation was observed between age and obsessive-compulsive symptom’s test scores; and a significant positive relationship was observed between age and self-esteem test scores. Obsession score decreased, while self-esteem scores increased with increasing age.

Conclusion: In this study, ON incidence is affected by age, gender and vocational training. Orthorexic individuals are more interested in foods being pure, clean and natural, rather than body image and body weight. Therefore, unlike eating disorders, orthorexia is not associated with self-esteem. These results show that although, there are similar features between ON and eating disorders, ON might be more suited to obsessive-compulsive disorder criteria. However, comprehensive and more recent studies are needed.