Prevalência de ortorexia nervosa em professores de universidade federal de Campina Grande - CES - Campus de Cuité - PB.

Abstract

Ortorexia nervosa is an obsessive-pathological behavior related to food-fixation. This clinical picture has not yet been officially recognized as an eating disorder and is not present in DSM-V. The term orthorexia nervosa means correct feeding. Individuals with orthorexia nervosa are fixated by healthy foods and spend a lot of time preparing and preparing meals that they consider to be pure. This exaggerated preoccupation with food causes individuals to exclude from the menu: lactose, gluten, colorings, preservatives, salt, sugar and fat, as they are seen as harmful to health, feeling safer with organic, ecological and functional food. The exclusion of so many foods favors nutritional deficiencies which, in turn, can contribute to the emergence of several diseases associated with the deficiency of vitamins and minerals. The present study aimed to evaluate the risk behavior for the development of orthorexia nervosa in teachers of the Center for Education and Health (CES) of the Federal University of Campina Grande - Campus de Cuité - PB. A quantitative field research of descriptive and transversal character was carried out. The research instrument used to evaluate the risk behavior to develop orthorexia nervosa was the Orto-15 questionnaire, self-administered by the teachers. The questionnaires were numbered, and then transposed to a digital platform using the features of the Microsoft Access 2007 program. After typing, the database was transferred to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows version 13.0 The statistical analysis of the data. 82.4% of teachers had a score lower than 40, thus presenting a risk behavior for orthorexia nervosa, while 17.5% did not present this behavior. No correlation was found between orthorexia and variables such as gender and BMI. A correlation was found between orthorexia and age, since it was in the age group of 25 to 35 years that the greatest number of cases was found. The variable marital status presented statistical significance, however the lack of joint studies made it impossible to make such data comparable. The high percentage of suggestive results for orthorexia nervosa among teachers suggest the need for new studies to verify if the choice of profession is a determining factor. Therefore, it is important to carry out population surveys, with larger and more representative sampling.