Jana Strahler1, Chadia Haddad2, Pascale Salameh3, Hala Sacre4, Sahar Obeid5, Souheil Hallit6. 1. Department of Health Psychology and Applied Diagnostics, Faculty of Human-Social Sciences, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany; Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Science, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany. Electronic address: jana.strahler@gmail.com. 2. Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon; INSERM, U1094, Tropical Neuroepidemiology, Limoges, France; University of Limoges, UMR 1094, Tropical Neuroepidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, Limoges, France; CH Esquirol, Department of Psychiatry, Limoges, France. 3. Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie, Beirut, Lebanon; Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon; Faculty of Medicine, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon. 4. Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie, Beirut, Lebanon; Drug Information Center, Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon, Beirut, Lebanon. 5. Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Psychology, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon; Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon. 6. Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie, Beirut, Lebanon; Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon. Electronic address: souheilhallit@hotmail.com.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Sociocultural factors and personality traits play key roles in determining dietary behaviors. Orthorexia nervosa (ON), the pathologic obsession with healthy eating, is increasingly receiving scientific attention. However, mechanisms and risk factors are not completely understood. The aims of this study were to compare the prevalence of orthorexic eating attitudes among adults in Germany and Lebanon, and to examine the relationship with primary facets of personality and maladaptive personality traits. METHODS: The German sample comprised 391 adults, of which 314 were women (80.3%) and the mean age was 27 y. The Lebanese sample comprised 519 adults, of which 283 were women (56%) and the mean age was 36 y. In addition to sociodemographic data, participants completed the Dusseldorf Orthorexia Scale (DOS), the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS), the Big Five Inventory, and the Personality Inventory for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. RESULTS: Generally higher levels of healthy orthorexia among women and higher levels of ON according to the TOS-ON and DOS scores were found in Lebanon. In the Lebanese sample, 8.4% presented a high risk for ON, whereas this was true for only 4.9% of the German sample. Some associations between DOS/TOS scores and personality traits appeared but coefficients were generally low. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that the negative association between ON and the traits agreeableness and negative affectivity was clearly evident in the Lebanese sample but less so in the German sample. Age, body mass index, marital status, and subjective social status were not relevant moderators of effects. Comparison by country indicated higher prevalence of pathologic healthful eating and ON in the Lebanese sample compared with the German group. Personality traits, but not sociodemographic variables, partly contributed to this difference. CONCLUSION: The present results suggested the importance of sociocultural factors in the development of eating pathologies and proposed specific personality traits as important associated factors.
OBJECTIVES: Sociocultural factors and personality traits play key roles in determining dietary behaviors. Orthorexia nervosa (ON), the pathologic obsession with healthy eating, is increasingly receiving scientific attention. However, mechanisms and risk factors are not completely understood. The aims of this study were to compare the prevalence of orthorexic eating attitudes among adults in Germany and Lebanon, and to examine the relationship with primary facets of personality and maladaptive personality traits. METHODS: The German sample comprised 391 adults, of which 314 were women (80.3%) and the mean age was 27 y. The Lebanese sample comprised 519 adults, of which 283 were women (56%) and the mean age was 36 y. In addition to sociodemographic data, participants completed the Dusseldorf Orthorexia Scale (DOS), the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS), the Big Five Inventory, and the Personality Inventory for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. RESULTS: Generally higher levels of healthy orthorexia among women and higher levels of ON according to the TOS-ON and DOS scores were found in Lebanon. In the Lebanese sample, 8.4% presented a high risk for ON, whereas this was true for only 4.9% of the German sample. Some associations between DOS/TOS scores and personality traits appeared but coefficients were generally low. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that the negative association between ON and the traits agreeableness and negative affectivity was clearly evident in the Lebanese sample but less so in the German sample. Age, body mass index, marital status, and subjective social status were not relevant moderators of effects. Comparison by country indicated higher prevalence of pathologic healthful eating and ON in the Lebanese sample compared with the German group. Personality traits, but not sociodemographic variables, partly contributed to this difference. CONCLUSION: The present results suggested the importance of sociocultural factors in the development of eating pathologies and proposed specific personality traits as important associated factors.
Authors: Anna Brytek-Matera; María Dolores Onieva-Zafra; María Laura Parra-Fernández; Anna Staniszewska; Justyna Modrzejewska; Elia Fernández-Martínez Journal: Nutrients Date: 2020-12-01 Impact factor: 5.717