Relationship between orthorexia nervosa and self-esteem in Tunisian medical students

INTRODUCTION: The effect of self-esteem in eating disorders has been investigated in several studies, but it’s still not extensively investigated in orthorexia nervosa. OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence and factors associated with orthorexic eating behaviors in medical students and it’s relation with self-esteem. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey among medical students of the faculty of medicine of Sfax (Tunisia). Participants completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. We collected their sociodemographic and clinical data. Orthorexia nervosa (ON) was assessed using the self-reported scale, ORTO-15. We used the Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale to assess self-esteem. RESULTS: Ninety five medical students completed the survey. The mean age was 25.8±3.4 years and the sex ratio (F/M) was 3.75. The average body mass index was 23.64±3.53 kg /m2. Fifty-eight percent of the students (58%) reported that they were dissatisfied with their eating habits, and 27.4% tried to control their weight. Several methods of weight control were used, the most frequent (65.4%) were diet and physical exercise, none resorted to laxatives and 8.4% consulted a nutritionist. Self-esteem was very low in 27.1% and low in 34.7% of the students. Overall, the prevalence of orthorexia among our participants was 52.6%. The mean score of the ORTO-15 was 39.19±4.48. Orthorexia was significantly correlated with the use of weight control measures (p=0.035) and physical activity (p=0.042). Students with low self-esteem had higher tendency for orthorexia but with no significant correlation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study supports a non-negligible frequency of orthorexic behaviors in medical students but future studies are needed to assess the direct effect of self-esteem on orthorexia. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST: None Declared