Sanseverino Rosanna, Guidotti Sara, Pruneti Carlo
Clinical Psychology, Clinical Psychophysiology, and Clinical Neuropsychology Laboratories, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy.
Nutrients. 2025 Jun 23;17(13):2078. doi: 10.3390/nu17132078.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of orthorexia nervosa (ON) is increasing over time. Additionally, specific social categories seem to be more affected. In the literature, the prevalence of university students suffering from ON is unclear, ranging from 7% to 83%. Nonetheless, ON shares pathological traits with both eating and obsessive-compulsive disorders, making its etiology and therapeutic perspectives complex. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of ON and explore its psychological characteristics in a sample of university students.
A total of 205 students from the University of Parma were consecutively recruited using a convenience sampling procedure. Participants completed the Orthorexia Nervosa Questionnaire-15 (ORTO-15) to assess ON, the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3) to investigate eating behavior, the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) to detect psychological symptoms, and the P Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) to describe stress-related lifestyle. Based on the scores obtained on the ORTO-15, a group of orthorexic students (ORTO-15 score ≤ 35) was compared with a group of non-orthorexic students (ORTO-15 score > 35).
The prevalence of university students with ON was nearly 42% (specifically, 41.95%). Furthermore, orthorexic students reported significantly higher levels of emotional dysregulation, perfectionism, and asceticism on the EDI-3 as well as affective problems and overcontrol in general. Furthermore, although there were no differences between the groups regarding psychological symptoms, an increase in sense of responsibility, vigor, and hyperactivity, as well as decreased free time on the PSQ, characterized the orthorexic student group.
The results support that orthorexia nervosa emerged as a concerning phenomenon among university students, with increasing evidence pointing to its psychological correlates. Nonetheless, the fact that ON shares psychological characteristics with eating disorders highlights the clinical importance of implementing multidimensional assessments and multidisciplinary therapeutic approaches for individuals presenting with orthorexic-type eating behavior disorders.
背景/目的：随着时间的推移，正食症（ON）的患病率呈上升趋势。此外，特定的社会群体似乎受影响更大。在文献中，大学生患正食症的患病率尚不清楚，范围从7%到83%不等。尽管如此，正食症与饮食失调症和强迫症都有病理特征，这使得其病因和治疗前景变得复杂。本研究旨在调查大学生中正食症的患病率，并探索其心理特征。
采用便利抽样程序，连续招募了来自帕尔马大学的205名学生。参与者完成了正食症问卷-15（ORTO-15）以评估正食症，进食障碍问卷-3（EDI-3）以调查饮食行为，症状自评量表-90修订版（SCL-90-R）以检测心理症状，以及P压力问卷（PSQ）以描述与压力相关的生活方式。根据在ORTO-15上获得的分数，将一组正食症学生（ORTO-15得分≤35）与一组非正食症学生（ORTO-15得分>35）进行比较。
大学生中正食症的患病率接近42%（具体为41.95%）。此外，正食症学生在EDI-3上报告的情绪失调、完美主义和禁欲主义水平显著更高，以及总体上的情感问题和过度控制。此外，虽然两组在心理症状方面没有差异，但正食症学生组的特点是责任感、活力和多动增加，以及PSQ上的空闲时间减少。
结果支持正食症在大学生中成为一个令人担忧的现象，越来越多的证据表明其与心理因素相关。尽管如此，正食症与饮食失调症具有共同心理特征这一事实凸显了对出现正食症型饮食行为障碍的个体实施多维评估和多学科治疗方法的临床重要性。
