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Orthorexia Nervosa and exercise addiction in a sample of Tunisian athlete students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2024

N. Smaoui ,
O. Bouattour ,
R. Feki ,
I. Gassara ,
S. Omri ,
M. Maalej ,
L. Zouari ,
M. Maalej ,
J. Ben Thabet  and
N. Charfi
N. Smaoui
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
O. Bouattour*
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
R. Feki
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
I. Gassara
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
S. Omri
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
M. Maalej
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
L. Zouari
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
M. Maalej
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
J. Ben Thabet
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
N. Charfi
Affiliation:
psychiatry C department, Hedi chaker University hospital, Sfax, Tunisia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Orthorexia and exercise addiction can lead to serious health problems, such as malnutrition and exercise-related injuries.

Objectives

The aims of our study were to assess the prevalence of exercise addiction and orthorexia nervosa in Tunisian students at the Institute of Physical Education in order to investigate the relationship between these different health dimensions.

Methods

An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was distributed to students in the Sfax and Gafsa sports sections during March 2023. The orthorexic tendency was assessed using the ORTO-15 questionnaire. An ORTO-15 score below 40 points indicates orthorexic tendencies. The Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI) was used to study exercise addiction

Results

In our study, 240 students were included. Mean scores on the ORTO-15 and EAI scales were 38.6 ± 8 and 16.6 ± 4.1 respectively. Participants at risk of exercise addiction had a statistically significant tendency towards orthorexia (p<0.001). Among the students, 82.5% had engaged in regular physical activity at a gym in the last two years. The reasons given by students for going to the gym were muscle strengthening (57.9%) and preparation for a sporting competition (37%).

Among students taking part in sports activities at the gym, the mean ORTHO-15 score was significantly lower among those doing so to prepare for a sports competition (p=0.005). Participants who believed that they were addicted to sport had a statistically greater tendency towards orthorexia (p=0.012).

Conclusions

Our study revealed an association between addictive exercise and orthorexic eating in Tunisian athlete students.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 67 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 32nd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2024 , pp. S408
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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