{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T22:59:56Z","timestamp":1788908396514,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,31]],"date-time":"2025-01-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1738281600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The pursuit of excellence in sports often drives athletes to maintain rigorous dietary and physical standards, sometimes leading to disordered eating patterns like orthorexia nervosa. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between perfectionism, body composition, and the risk of orthorexia among young soccer players. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 93 young football players aged 15\u201324 from a football academy. Perfectionism was assessed using the Perfectionism in Sport Questionnaire, while orthorexia nervosa risk was evaluated using the D\u00fcsseldorf Orthorexia Scale. Body composition parameters, including body mass index, lean body mass, skeletal muscle mass, fat mass, and fat percentage, were analyzed using multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance. Results: Higher levels of negative perfectionism were significantly associated with increased orthorexia nervosa risk (p = 0.006), while positive perfectionism showed no significant correlation. Younger players exhibited higher negative perfectionism scores compared to older groups (p = 0.043). No significant relationships were found between body mass index, body composition parameters, and orthorexia nervosa risk (p &gt; 0.05). Conclusions: This study highlights the psychological underpinnings of orthorexia nervosa risk in young athletes, emphasizing the influence of negative perfectionism and the limited role of body composition. Early intervention focusing on reducing negative perfectionism and promoting adaptive perfectionism could support both psychological well-being and athletic performance. Future research should investigate long-term trends and the role of sociocultural factors in orthorexia nervosa development.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu17030523","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,31]],"date-time":"2025-01-31T04:05:47Z","timestamp":1738296347000},"page":"523","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Perfectionism, Orthorexia Nervosa, and Body Composition in Young Football Players: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0153-4373","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Grzegorz","family":"Zydek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sport Nutrition, Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, ul. Miko\u0142owska 72A, 40-065 Katowice, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Food Technology and Quality Evaluation, Faculty of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4810-1025","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marek","family":"Kardas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Technology and Quality Evaluation, Faculty of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2420-5935","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wiktoria","family":"Sta\u015bkiewicz-Bartecka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Technology and Quality Evaluation, Faculty of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"176","article-title":"Development and Initial Validation of the Performance Perfectionism Scale for Sport (PPS-S)","volume":"38","author":"Hill","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. 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