Ephrem Chloe, Rizk Rana, Nicolas Petra, El Khoury Celine, Brytek-Matera Anna, Martijn Carolien, Obeid Sahar, Hallit Souheil
Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Department of Nutrition and Food Science, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon.
J Eat Disord. 2024 Nov 18;12(1):183. doi: 10.1186/s40337-024-01149-y.
Unlike eating disorders (ED) that are officially recognized and focusing on the quantity of food, Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) revolves around an unhealthy fixation on the quality of food eaten. Existing ON scales differ in how these conceptualize and define ON, ensuing inconsistency in assessments that not only affects the validity and reliability of ON related research, but also impacts the ability of healthcare professionals to identify and provide support for individuals struggling with ON.
Create the first Eastern locally validated tool that considers the cultural nuances and specificity of the Lebanese general population's eating attitudes and their social context, addresses the limitations of existing scales and thereby provides a valid instrument that can be used in Lebanon and culturally-similar countries.
Data were collected between September 2023 and February 2024, enrolling 320 participants for the exploratory factor analysis and 658 for the confirmatory analysis.
Starting from an initial pool of 25 items, the exploratory-confirmatory (EFA-CFA) factor analyses retained 13 items. The LONI showed a unidimensional factor structure, and satisfactory convergent and concurrent validity with a composite reliability (ω and α) of 0.90 providing clear evidence of its high reliability, supporting the stability and consistency of LONI scores across different subsamples. The structural characteristics, factor loadings, and item intercepts of the LONI remained consistent regardless of gender, affirming the tool's stability and reliability in measuring ON traits across diverse populations.
The LONI is a valid tool for assessing ON, particularly in accounting for Lebanese and culturally similar populations. The scale's unidimensional structure allows for straightforward calculation of the score, making it practical for both clinical and research applications, while offering a unique advantage in considering regional dietary patterns compared with existing ON screening tools due to its cultural specificity and psychometric strengths. The ON prevalence was high in the present sample, underscoring the significance of sociocultural and behavioral factors in its manifestation.
与官方认可的、关注食物摄入量的饮食失调不同，神经性正食症（ON）围绕着对所吃食物质量的不健康执着。现有的ON量表在对ON的概念化和定义方式上存在差异，导致评估不一致，这不仅影响了与ON相关研究的有效性和可靠性，还影响了医疗保健专业人员识别和为与ON作斗争的个体提供支持的能力。
创建首个经过东方地区本土化验证的工具，该工具考虑黎巴嫩普通人群饮食态度及其社会背景的文化细微差别和特殊性，解决现有量表的局限性，从而提供一种可在黎巴嫩及文化相似国家使用的有效工具。
在2023年9月至2024年2月期间收集数据，招募320名参与者进行探索性因素分析，658名参与者进行验证性分析。
从最初的25个项目库开始，探索性-验证性（EFA-CFA）因素分析保留了13个项目。黎巴嫩神经性正食症量表（LONI）显示出单维因素结构，具有令人满意的收敛效度和同时效度，综合信度（ω和α）为0.90，提供了其高信度的明确证据，支持LONI分数在不同子样本中的稳定性和一致性。无论性别如何，LONI的结构特征、因素负荷和项目截距都保持一致，证实了该工具在测量不同人群的ON特征方面的稳定性和可靠性。
LONI是评估ON的有效工具，特别是在针对黎巴嫩及文化相似人群方面。该量表的单维结构允许直接计算分数，使其在临床和研究应用中都很实用，同时由于其文化特异性和心理测量优势，与现有的ON筛查工具相比，在考虑区域饮食模式方面具有独特优势。本样本中ON的患病率很高，强调了社会文化和行为因素在其表现中的重要性。
