Journal of Hepatology and Gastrointestinal disorders
Open Access

Is fitness enthusiasm a risk factor for a new eating disorder?

27^th World Congress on Diet, Nutrition and Obesity & 18^th World Gastroenterologists Summit

September 07-08, 2018 Auckland, New Zealand

Eniko Bona

Semmelweis University, Hungary

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Hepatol Gastroint Dis

Abstract :

In recent decades, as a response to the worrying statistics about obesity, healthy eating has become a fixation in the modern world, especially for the people using facilities of the fitness industry. Following a special (for example plant based, sugar free, soy-free, low carb, etc.) diet may have obvious benefits for most people. However, we also come across those whose kitchen is their battleground- they become anxious while preparing food, obsessively counting calories and measuring how their body changes due to the presumed health benefits or their diet. They became labeled with the non-existing diagnostic label of orthorexia nervosa (ON). This lecture aims to analyze this phenomenon from sociocultural perspective and to present the results of an empirical study investigating the ON tendencies among fitness enthusiasts in Hungary. It is also important to explore the correlates of ON, so disordered eating pathology and obsessive-compulsive behaviors were also measured. The sample consisted of Hungarian adults who visit gym facilities more than 3 times per week. We found that fitness communities showed high levels of health food dependence and these characteristics were in linear relationship with a strong drive for thinness and interpersonal distrust, younger age and higher BMI. We conclude that the world of fitness and the phenomenon of ON need more attention from eating disorder specialists. Despite the endless positive effects of being a fitness enthusiast and health food fan, the phenomenon of body image anxiety and narrowed social relationships can be real predictors for extreme dieting and possible pathology. The aim of this lecture is to open a discussion about the possibilities of educating people for balance, for challenging their preoccupation with fit and healthy body images and clean diets. Our future research on ON will aim to explore the further social, cultural and spiritual background of these imbalances.

Biography :

E-mail: enikobona@gmail.com