The prevalence of orthorexia in exercising populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Plain English summary Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) describes a pathological obsession with proper and high quality nutrition that is characterized by a restrictive diet, ritualized patterns of eating, and rigid avoidance of foods believed to be unhealthy or impure. This obsession is found among sports athletes in some studies, and there is an assumed link between ON and exercise in general. In this study, the term exercise is defined as any activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we examined the overall prevalence of ON in the exercising population. Searching in scientific databases resulted in 613 articles, of which 24 met the rigorous inclusion criteria. The overall prevalence of ON in the general exercising population was 55.3%. The prevalence was thought to be predictable by sex, type of sport, and sample size, but no significant associations were found. This may be due to poor study quality and a lack of demographic information on the participants in some of the included studies. Other predictors worth investigating might be age, student status, status as vegetarian/vegan, psychiatric comorbidity, and intensity/frequency of exercise. This knowledge may bear implications for the prevention and right treatment for people at risk of developing ON.

Keywords

• Review
• Meta-regression
• Meta-analysis
• Orthorexia
• Prevalence
• Frequency