1.
Are the Motives for Food Choices Different in Orthorexia Nervosa and Healthy Orthorexia?
Depa, J, Barrada, JR, Roncero, M
Nutrients. 2019;11(3)
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More than 20 years ago the term “orthorexia nervosa” (OrNe) was coined for people whose intention to eat healthily becomes an unhealthy obsession. OrNe is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and no official diagnostic criteria exists. Research has been limited by the use of different questionnaires used to establish OrNe. The newly developed Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS) also distinguishes between “healthy orthorexia” (HeOr) and OrNe, whereby HeOr is seen as a healthy interest with diet, healthy behaviour with regard to diet, and eating healthily as part of one’s identity, and is not associated with disordered eating, perfectionism, and obsessive-compulsive behaviour. OrNe and HeOr are not thought to be a continuum from people who do not care at all about eating healthily, followed by people who eat healthily (HeOr), and, finally, those who care excessively (OrNe), confirmed by the fact that there is only a low association between HeOr and OrNe. The aim of this study was to find further evidence for this hypothesis, and to evaluate the motives associated with the two types of orthorexia. 460 Spanish students participated in the study, 82% female, 18% male, with a mean age of 21. Participants completed two online questionnaires, the TOS and the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) which assessed the following food choice motives: Weight Control; Sensorial Appeal; Convenience, Health Content; Price; Affect Regulation (e.g. “helps me relax”; Socio-political (e.g. country of food origin). The authors found that HeOr was positively related to Health Content and negatively related to Sensory Appeal and Price. OrNe, on the other hand, was positively related to Weight Control and Affect Regulation, and negatively related to Sensory Appeal and age.
Abstract
Recent research points to the bidimensional nature of orthorexia, with one dimension related to interest in healthy eating (healthy orthorexia) and another dimension related to a pathological preoccupation with eating healthily (orthorexia nervosa). Research was needed to provide further support for this differentiation. We examined the food-choice motives related to both aspects of orthorexia. Participants were 460 students from a Spanish university who completed the Teruel Orthorexia Scale and the Food Choice Questionnaire. By means of structural equation modeling, we analyzed the relationship between orthorexia, food-choice motives, gender, body mass index, and age. The motives predicting food choices in orthorexia nervosa and healthy orthorexia were quite different. In the case of orthorexia nervosa, the main motive was weight control, with sensorial appeal and affect regulation also showing significant associations. For healthy orthorexia, the main motive was health content, with sensorial appeal and price also showing significant associations. This supports the hypothesis that orthorexia nervosa is associated with maladaptive eating behavior motived more by weight control than by health concerns.
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An internet-based self-administered intervention for promoting healthy habits and weight loss in hypertensive people who are overweight or obese: a randomized controlled trial.
Banos, RM, Mensorio, MS, Cebolla, A, Rodilla, E, Palomar, G, Lisón, J, Botella, C
BMC cardiovascular disorders. 2015;15:83
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Overweight and obesity are chronic conditions that have been linked with an increased risk of developing hypertension. Healthy lifestyle habits around eating behaviour and physical activity are known to help counteract these conditions. The aim of this study will be to evaluate whether an self-administered internet-based programme targeting eating behaviour and physical activity levels can help improve disease markers in hypertensive obese patients. The internet-based programme consisted of nine modules designed to promote healthy eating and increased physical activity. A randomised trial will be conducted with 100 hypertensive patients and participants will be randomised to either receive the online programme or usual medical care for three months. Patients will be assessed at baseline, three months, six months and one year for blood pressure and body mass index, as well as quality of life measures. The authors conclude the current literature highlights the need for more studies on the benefits of using internet-based lifestyle interventions, and suggests this protocol will provide a starting point for developing cost-effective healthy lifestyle interventions.
Abstract
BACKGROUND The prevalence of overweight and obesity is on the rise worldwide with severe physical and psychosocial consequences. One of the most dangerous is hypertension. Lifestyle changes related to eating behaviour and physical activity are the critical components in the prevention and treatment of hypertension and obesity. Data indicates that the usual procedures to promote these healthy habits in health services are either insufficient or not efficient enough. Internet has been shown to be an effective tool for the implementation of lifestyle interventions based on this type of problem. This study aims to assess the efficacy of a totally self-administered online intervention programme versus the usual medical care for obese and overweight participants with hypertension (from the Spanish public health care system) to promote healthy lifestyles (eating behaviour and physical activity). METHOD A randomized controlled trial will be conducted with 100 patients recruited from the hypertension unit of a public hospital. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: a) SII: a self-administered Internet-based intervention protocol; and b) MUC-medical usual care. The online intervention is an Internet-delivered, multimedia, interactive, self-administered programme, composed of nine modules designed to promote healthy eating habits and increase physical activity. The first five modules will be activated at a rate of one per week, and access for modules 5 to 9 will open every two weeks. Patients will be assessed at four points: before the intervention, after the intervention (3 months), and at 6 and 12 months (follow-up). The outcome variables will include blood pressure, and Body Mass Index, as primary outcome measures, and quality of life and other lifestyle and anthropometrical variables as secondary outcome measures. DISCUSSION The literature highlights the need for more studies on the benefits of using the Internet to promote lifestyle interventions. This study aims to investigate the efficiency of a totally self-administered Internet - +based programme for promoting healthy habits and improving the medical indicators of a hypertensive and overweight population. TRIAL REGISTRATION NCT02445833.