Background

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a condition described as ‘unhealthy’ behaviors regarding diet and physical activity. There is an ongoing discussion if ON is more common among adolescents studying in the area of health care and exercise. The research on ON is scarce and few studies assess ON and its association to health related quality of life (HRQoL).

Aim

The aim was to study orthorexic eating behavior, levels of physical activity and HRQoL in students enrolled at university programs focusing on health and exercise compared to those enrolled in business programs.

Method

128 subjects, 32 men and 38 women from Biomedicine – Athletic Training (Biomedicine) and 22 men and 36 women from Construction and Real Estate Business (Business) participated in this cross-sectional study. The subjects completed the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) to measure HRQoL, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to measure levels of physical activity and ORTO-15 which examines eating behavior. A score less than 40 on ORTO-15 (score ranging from 0-60, worst to best) indicated an unhealthy relation to diet and was considered as ON in this study (Donini et al., 2005). Differences between groups were analyzed with t-tests and chi-square test.

Results

A total of 105 out of 128 (82%) subjects had a score indicating ON. Students from Biomedicine had a higher frequency of ON in comparison to Business (p < 0.000) and in the SF-36 subscale bodily pain, Biomedicine students reported a higher frequency of pain (p = 0.006). Results from measurements of physical activity did not differ significantly between Biomedicine and Business students, but there was a trend for high-intensity physical activity to occur more frequently in men than in women in general (p = 0.014).

Conclusion

ON is a common condition in university students and even more frequent in students enrolled in a program directed towards health and nutrition. The high frequency of ON seen in Biomedicine students could be a problem that needs to be addressed since the students, after graduation, are expected to coach other people to a healthy living. Further studies are needed to explore associations with ON to health and physical activity. There is also a need to develop valid and reliable instruments for assessing the condition.