Investigation of the relationship between body image, orthorexia nervosa, and cyberchondria in pregnant women

Abstract

Aim: The study aimed to determine the relationship between body image, orthorexia nervosa, and cyberchondria in pregnant women. Methods: The correlational-cross-sectional-descriptive study was conducted with 288 pregnant women between 06.12.2022 and 01.12.2023. Data was analyzed with SPSS 25.0, G*Power 3.1, and R programming language 4.1.3. Results: The statistical results of the hierarchical regression model in our study showed that the model was significant and usable (F(2.285)= 7.457, p=0.001). The analysis of the regression model's t-test results regarding the regression coefficient's significance revealed that a statistically significant decrease in the participants' level of "orthorexia nervosa" (score increase decreasing orthorectic attitude) was caused by an increase in their body image (t=3.856, p< 0.001). Regression analysis revealed that there was no relationship between "orthorexia nervosa" level and cyberchondria level (t=-0.450, p=0.653). In our study, it was determined that Random Forest made the best prediction in determining the most important variable in the prediction of orthorexia nervosa. According to Shapley values, the most important variable in the prediction of orthorexia nervosa was body image. In our study, 95.35% of pregnant women with orthorexia nervosa were correctly predicted by machine learning. Conclusion: In our study, it was found that the level of orthorexia nervosa decreased as the level of body image appreciation of pregnant women increased, and cyberchondria levels did not affect the level of orthorexia nervosa.