INDIAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH STUDIES - Volume 6 Issue 1, January 24

Pages: 120-138
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Assessing Orthorexia Nervosa and its Relation With Body Shape Among Young Adults

Author: Diksha D. Mathreja & Dr. Arefa J. Mansuri

Category: Health Studies

Abstract:

Consuming nutritious food is of utmost importance for one’s health and well-being. But when an individual becomes obsessed with eating only healthy food and focusing more on the nutritional content of the food, this obsession is termed as Orthorexia Nervosa. This obsession is characterized by restricting oneself from eating unhealthy foods and making the required dietary changes. The available literature reveals that this is still an unexplored avenue, especially in the Indian context. Thus, the present research focuses on determining the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa among young adults along with its relation with body shape perception. Body shape perception is measured in the terms of how satisfied or dissatisfied people are with their body shape and appearance. The aim of the present research is to determine the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa and body shape concerns among young adults. Secondly, it also focuses on studying the relationship between orthorexia nervosa and body shape. A sample size of 200 participants comprising of 100 males and 100 females were undertaken for the research. The sample constituted of Undergraduate college students only. A convenience sampling technique was used to collect the data from the sample. Responses on two self-report measures, namely: ORTO-15 and BSQ-16(a) were taken from the sample. The Analysis and Interpretation of the data was done through Descriptive Statistics and Pearson’s Correlation. The results indicate that out of 200 participants, 115 participants (57.5%) exhibit orthorexic tendencies, and 103 participants (51.5%) have marked concerns with their body shape. Orthorexia and body dissatisfaction are observed more in females. A Negative Significant Correlation (r= -0.329, p<0.01) is drawn between Orthorexia and Body Shape for the cohort. The current research tries to fill the gap around the sparse knowledge regarding Orthorexia Nervosa and Body Shape concerns especially in the Indian context and encourages further study.

Keywords: Orthorexia nervosa, body shape, body satisfaction, body dissatisfaction

DOI: 10.56490/IJHS.2024.6106

DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.56490/IJHS.2024.6106