Examination of the relationship between pregnant women's healthy life behaviors and healthy nutrition obsession

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors and Orthorexia Nervosa among pregnant women. Material-method: This research is a cross-sectional study. The universe of the research consisted of pregnant women who applied to the Izmir City Hospital Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic. The sample size was calculated based on 50% unknown prevalence and 5% margin of error due to the unknown universe (n: 393). The data of the research were collected using the "ORTO-11 Scale", "Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Pregnancy Scale" and a 16-question questionnaire prepared to determine the sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics of the participants, using face-to-face interviews. Results: The mean age of the pregnant women included in the study was 29,73 ± 5,49 years. The mean score of the participants on the ORTO-11 scale was 24,22 ± 4,58, while the mean total score on the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale was 122,65 ± 12,44. A statistically significant, negative, and weak correlation was found between healthy lifestyle behaviors and Orthorexia Nervosa among the pregnant women (r = -0.38, p < 0.001). Conclusion: It was determined that as the healthy lifestyle behaviors scale score of pregnant women increased, their tendency towards Orthorexia Nervosa increased (scale score decreased).