Abstract:

Objective: Studies indicate that orthorexia nervosa is more frequently seen in medical students, physicians, dietitians, people with anxiety, obsessive compulsive people, and people who are concerned with their body image. The aim of this study is to evaluate healthy eating obsessions, eating attitudes, and eating behaviors of female students studying nutrition and dietetics. Method: This study was conducted on 106 randomly selected female students of Near East University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics. A questionnaire was used to obtain general information on the subjects, and Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I), Orthorexia Nervosa Evaluation Scale (ORTO-11), Eating Attitude Test (EAT-40), and Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) were applied and some anthropometric measurements were taken to evaluate the subjects' obsession with healthy eating, eating attitudes, and eating behaviors. Findings: Mean ORTO-11 score of the subjects was found to be 30.7±4.45. As eating behavior disorder risk increases, orthorexia nervosa and obsessive compulsive disorder risks decreases with statistical significance (p<0.05). In addition, the increase of orthorexia nervosa risk is related with increased obsessive compulsive behavior risk and decreased eating behavior disorder risk (p<0.01). Results: Obsession with healthy eating, eating attitudes, and eating behaviors of female students studying nutrition and dietetics can be affected by their education.

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