Investigation of food neophobia and orthorexia nervosa and effective factors in university students

This study has been realized to investigate the food neophobia and orthorexia nervosa and the effective factors in university students. The study was conducted with 270 volunteer students studying at Hasan Kalyoncu University. Data were collected with a questionnaire consisting of five sections: general information, nutritional habits, frequency of food consumption, Food Neophobia Scale and ORTO-11 Scale. The mean age of students was 21.46±2.04 years. The mean BMI of male students was 24.34±3.12 kg/m2; that of female students was 21.52±3.62 kg/m2 (p<0.05). It was determined that 14% of the students from the Faculty of Health Sciences, 12.6% of the students from the Faculty of Social Sciences and 17.8% of the students from the Faculty of Sciences were neophobic (p>0.05). Considering The Food Neophobia Scale score; it is 40.84±8.59 points for the students from the Faculty of Health Sciences, 40.59±8.85 points for the students from the Faculty of Social Sciences, and 38.81±10.6 points for the students from the Faculty of Sciences (p>0.05). 30.1% of the students from the Faculty of Health Sciences, 13.8% of the students from the Faculty of Social Sciences and 26.7% of the students from the Faculty of Sciences are orthorexic (p<0.05). No significant relationship was detected between students' orthorexic status and Food Neophobia Scale (p>0.05). It has been determined that 20% of neophobics are orthorexic. There was no significant difference between the age and BMI value of the students in terms of food neophobia and orthorexia nervosa (p>0.05). This is the first study in our country to examine the relationship between food neophobia and orthorexia nervosa in university students. Food neophobia and/or being orthorexic may negatively affect the intake of required nutrients by reducing food variety. In order for university students to acquire healthy eating habits, it is important to provide nutrition education periodically.