Purpose: Disordered eating symptoms and a high prevalence of orthorexia nervosa can be found in yoga practitioners. Given that yoga is increasingly used as a complementary treatment for eating disorders (ED), understanding the relationship between yoga practice and the development of disordered eating is crucial to guide treatment recommendations. The goal of this work is, therefore, to study the relationships between orthorexia nervosa (ON) and potential risk factors for ON, in an international sample of experienced yoga practitioners.
Method: An online questionnaire that included several psychometric instruments was responded by 469 yoga practitioners. Instruments used were the Teruel orthorexia scale, Yoga immersion scale, Passion scale, Frost multidimensional perfectionism scale, Self-discipline scale of NEO-PI-R, Drive for thinness scale of EDI, and Beliefs about appearance scale. Descriptive statistics, correlational analysis and multiple regression were used to evaluate relationships between ON and the other variables.
Results: The main predictors of orthorexia nervosa were the drive for thinness and a healthy orthorexia, suggesting that, like in anorexia and bulimia, orthorexic individuals are also concerned with food quantity and physical appearance, rather than just food quality.
Conclusions: The potential effects of yoga on eating behaviours and attitudes of long-term practitioners, particularly the high prevalence of orthorexia nervosa and the concern for physical appearance, should be taken into consideration when using yoga as prevention or treatment for eating disorders.
Level of evidence: Level V, descriptive cross-sectional study.
Keywords: Body image; Orthorexia nervosa; Perfectionism; Risk factors; Yoga.