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Review
. 2022 Apr 6;9(4):514.
doi: 10.3390/children9040514.

Orthorexia and Eating Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review

Panagiota Skella  1 , Maria Eleni Chelmi  1   2 , Eleni Panagouli  1 , Anastasia Garoufi  1 , Theodora Psaltopoulou  1   3 , George Mastorakos  4 , Theodoros N Sergentanis  1   3   5 , Artemis Tsitsika  1
Affiliations
Review

Orthorexia and Eating Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review

Panagiota Skella et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: In recent years a new term in the field of eating behaviors has emerged, namely "orthorexia". This behavior is associated with significant dietary restrictions and omission of food groups. The aim of the present study is to estimate the possible correlations between orthorexia and eating disorders in young adults and adolescents.

Methods: A systematic review of related articles in PubMed, Google Scholar, and PsycInfo was conducted up to 30 June 2021.

Results: A total of 37 studies (16,402 subjects) were considered eligible for this systematic review. Significant correlations were observed in most of the studies between orthorexia and eating disorders. However, the majority of studies adopted a cross-sectional design.

Conclusions: An association between and eating disorders emerged. Prospective studies seem necessary to investigate associations and succession of orthorexia and eating disorders over time.

Keywords: adolescents; anorexia; bulimia; eating disorders; mental health; orthorexia; young adults.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram—selection of studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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