Chloe Ephrem, Rana Rizk, Petra Nicolas, Celine El Khoury, Anna Brytek-Matera, Carolien Martijn, Sahar Obeid, Souheil Hallit
{"title":"Development and validation of the Lebanese Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (LONI).","authors":"Chloe Ephrem, Rana Rizk, Petra Nicolas, Celine El Khoury, Anna Brytek-Matera, Carolien Martijn, Sahar Obeid, Souheil Hallit","doi":"10.1186/s40337-024-01149-y","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Unlike eating disorders (ED) that are officially recognized and focusing on the quantity of food, Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) revolves around an unhealthy fixation on the quality of food eaten. Existing ON scales differ in how these conceptualize and define ON, ensuing inconsistency in assessments that not only affects the validity and reliability of ON related research, but also impacts the ability of healthcare professionals to identify and provide support for individuals struggling with ON.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>Create the first Eastern locally validated tool that considers the cultural nuances and specificity of the Lebanese general population's eating attitudes and their social context, addresses the limitations of existing scales and thereby provides a valid instrument that can be used in Lebanon and culturally-similar countries.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were collected between September 2023 and February 2024, enrolling 320 participants for the exploratory factor analysis and 658 for the confirmatory analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Starting from an initial pool of 25 items, the exploratory-confirmatory (EFA-CFA) factor analyses retained 13 items. The LONI showed a unidimensional factor structure, and satisfactory convergent and concurrent validity with a composite reliability (ω and α) of 0.90 providing clear evidence of its high reliability, supporting the stability and consistency of LONI scores across different subsamples. The structural characteristics, factor loadings, and item intercepts of the LONI remained consistent regardless of gender, affirming the tool's stability and reliability in measuring ON traits across diverse populations.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The LONI is a valid tool for assessing ON, particularly in accounting for Lebanese and culturally similar populations. The scale's unidimensional structure allows for straightforward calculation of the score, making it practical for both clinical and research applications, while offering a unique advantage in considering regional dietary patterns compared with existing ON screening tools due to its cultural specificity and psychometric strengths. The ON prevalence was high in the present sample, underscoring the significance of sociocultural and behavioral factors in its manifestation.</p>","PeriodicalId":48605,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eating Disorders","volume":"12 1","pages":"183"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11571891/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Eating Disorders","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-024-01149-y","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"NUTRITION & DIETETICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Unlike eating disorders (ED) that are officially recognized and focusing on the quantity of food, Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) revolves around an unhealthy fixation on the quality of food eaten. Existing ON scales differ in how these conceptualize and define ON, ensuing inconsistency in assessments that not only affects the validity and reliability of ON related research, but also impacts the ability of healthcare professionals to identify and provide support for individuals struggling with ON.
Objective: Create the first Eastern locally validated tool that considers the cultural nuances and specificity of the Lebanese general population's eating attitudes and their social context, addresses the limitations of existing scales and thereby provides a valid instrument that can be used in Lebanon and culturally-similar countries.
Methods: Data were collected between September 2023 and February 2024, enrolling 320 participants for the exploratory factor analysis and 658 for the confirmatory analysis.
Results: Starting from an initial pool of 25 items, the exploratory-confirmatory (EFA-CFA) factor analyses retained 13 items. The LONI showed a unidimensional factor structure, and satisfactory convergent and concurrent validity with a composite reliability (ω and α) of 0.90 providing clear evidence of its high reliability, supporting the stability and consistency of LONI scores across different subsamples. The structural characteristics, factor loadings, and item intercepts of the LONI remained consistent regardless of gender, affirming the tool's stability and reliability in measuring ON traits across diverse populations.
Conclusion: The LONI is a valid tool for assessing ON, particularly in accounting for Lebanese and culturally similar populations. The scale's unidimensional structure allows for straightforward calculation of the score, making it practical for both clinical and research applications, while offering a unique advantage in considering regional dietary patterns compared with existing ON screening tools due to its cultural specificity and psychometric strengths. The ON prevalence was high in the present sample, underscoring the significance of sociocultural and behavioral factors in its manifestation.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Eating Disorders is the first open access, peer-reviewed journal publishing leading research in the science and clinical practice of eating disorders. It disseminates research that provides answers to the important issues and key challenges in the field of eating disorders and to facilitate translation of evidence into practice.
The journal publishes research on all aspects of eating disorders namely their epidemiology, nature, determinants, neurobiology, prevention, treatment and outcomes. The scope includes, but is not limited to anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other eating disorders. Related areas such as important co-morbidities, obesity, body image, appetite, food and eating are also included. Articles about research methodology and assessment are welcomed where they advance the field of eating disorders.