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Turkish Journal of Health and Sport, vol.6, no.1, pp.13-18, 2025 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Abstract Objective: Orthorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that is not yet recognized as a disease. Little is known about the prevalence and associated factors of ON outside of certain groups. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of ON and related factors among the employees of a private university in Turkey. Method: This study was carried out with 144 employees. Data were collected with a questionnaire form containing 17 questions about the socio-demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, health and physical activity status, and ORTO-11 scale. Results: ON was common among university employees. Employees who were younger and had chronic diseases were more prone to ON. There was weak positive correlation between ORTO-11 score and age. Gender, marital status, body mass index, and status of working in healthcare were found to be unrelated to being orthorexic. Conclusion: The reason why young employees were more orthorexic may be related to the fact that young ones were more interested in nutrition and the youth period was more advantageous for practices related to nutrition. Besides, employees with chronic diseases may tend to be more orthorexic in the hope of regaining their health by eating a healthier diet with the influence of their doctors’ recommendations. Keywords: chronic diseases; nutrition; orthorexia nervosa; ORTO-11, university employees