Orthorexia nervosa by proxy

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Orthorexia nervosa and self-attitudinal aspects of body image in female and male university students.

The present study was designed to investigate orthorexia nervosa, or the phenomenon of being preoccupied with consuming healthy food. Specific aims were to explore relationships between orthorexia features and attitudes towards body image, fitness and health in normal weight female and male university students with high levels of healthy food preoccupation, i.e. orthorexia nervosa. METHODS Participants were 327 female (N = 283) and male (N = 44) students aged 18 to 25 years. All participants completed the Polish adaptation of the 15-item questionnaire assessing orthorexia eating behaviours (the ORTHO-15) and the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (the MBSRQ). Relationships between scores on the ORTHO-15 and MBSRQ were explored in the 213 students who had high levels of preoccupation with a healthy food intake (68.55% women and 43.18% men, respectively). RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in the levels of orthorexia behaviours between females and males. In female students with orthorexia nervosa, preoccupation with consuming healthy food was significantly correlated with the MBSRQ subscale scores for overweight preoccupation, appearance orientation, fitness orientation, health orientation, body areas satisfaction and appearance evaluation. Conversely, in male students with orthorexia nervosa there were no correlations between orthorexic behaviours and the MBSRQ subscales. In female students with orthorexia nervosa multivariable linear regression analysis found high body areas (parts) satisfaction, low fitness orientation, low overweight preoccupation and low appearance orientation were independent predictors of greater fixation on eating healthy food. In male students, we found that aspects of body image were not associated with preoccupation with healthy eating. CONCLUSION: A strong preoccupation with healthy and proper food was not associated with an unhealthy body-self relationship among Polish female student with orthorexia nervosa

Some thoughts from the new editors.

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Dieta mediterranea e tiroidite di Hashimoto

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Peripheral Arterial Tonometry to Measure the Effects of Vardenafil on Sympathetic Tone in Men with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation

To elucidate whether adrenergic overtone is involved in the pathophysiology of men with lifelong (LL) premature ejaculation (PE), we investigated differences in reactive hyperemia index (RHI) responses by using peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT). 20 men with LL-PE (18–40 years) were enrolled in an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study and compared with 10 age-matched controls without LL-PE. Primary endpoints were PAT modifications induced by vardenafil 10 mg on demand. Secondary endpoints were the improvement in intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) as measured by the stopwatch technique and variations in anxiety scores at Stai-X1 for state-anxiety and Stai-X2 for trait-anxiety. At baseline, men with LL-PE showed higher RHI variation (), Stai-X1 and Stai X2 scores (, resp.), and prolactin levels () compared with controls. Vardenafil treatment markedly reduced RHI variation in men with LL-PE () when compared with placebo. Mean changes in geometric IELT were higher after taking vardenafil (0.6 ± 0.3 versus 4.5 ± 1.1 min, ) when compared with placebo. STAI-X1 and STAI-X2 scores fell within the normal range after treatment with vardenafil (). Vardenafil was an effective treatment in men with LL-PE; improvements of IELT may be due to increased NO production which is able to reduce adrenergic overactivity and anxiety levels

Orthorexia nervosa: A preliminary study with a proposal for diagnosis and an attempt to measure the dimension of the phenomenon

Aim: To propose a diagnostic proceeding and to try to verify the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa (ON), an eating disorder defined as "a maniacal obsession for healthy foods". Materials and Methods: 404 subjects were enrolled. Diagnosis of ON was based on both the presence of a disorder with obsessive-compulsive personality features and an exaggerated healthy eating behaviour pattern. Results: Of the 404 subjects examined, 28 were found to suffer from ON (prevalence of 6.9%). The analysis of the physiological characteristics, the social-cultural and the psychological behaviour that characterises subjects suffering from ON shows a higher prevalence in men and in those with a lower level of education. The orthorexic subjects attribute characteristics that show their specific "feelings" towards food ("dangerous" to describe a conserved product, "artificial" for industrially produced products, "healthy" for biological produce) and demonstrate a strong or uncontrollable desire to eat when feeling nervous, excited, happy or guilty

Erratum to: Adaptation of the ORTHO-15 test to Polish women and men

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Obesità sarcopenica

SommarioL'obesità sarcopenica è una sindrome più frequentemente presente nella popolazione anziana, associata ad aumentato rischio di disabilità, morbilità e mortalità. Questo articolo discute l'evoluzione e le controversie legate alla definizione di tale patologia, i fattori di rischio, i meccanismi fisiopatologici, le conseguenze clinico-funzionali, le modalità di valutazione della composizione corporea e i criteri diagnostici presenti. Vengono descritte, inoltre, le possibili strategie di trattamento

Is obesity in women protective against osteoporosis?

The belief that obesity is protective against osteoporosis has recently come into question. The latest epidemiologic and clinical studies have shown that a high level of fat mass might be a risk factor for osteoporosis and fragility fractures. Further, increasing evidence seems to indicate that different components of the metabolic syndrome, ie, hypertension, increased triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, are also potential risk factors for the development of low bone mineral density and osteoporosis. This review considers both the older and more recent data in the literature in order to evaluate further the relationship between fat tissue and bone tissue