Orthorexia nervosa: Healthy eating or eating disorder?

Abstract

A new concept called orthorexia nervosa has recently become more prevalent in scientific
journal articles. Orthorexia nervosa has been defined as a fixation on eating only healthy
foods, spending hours ruminating on meals, and an obsession with proper nutrition
(Bratman, 1997). Several studies have attempted to investigate this concept, establish
prevalence rates, and determine whether orthorexia is a disorder. Some studies have
found an association between eating disorders, anxiety, and orthorexia as well as posited
risk factors such as higher body-mass index, level of education, and sex. The present
study examined an individual's scores on measures of orthorexia, anxiety, eating
disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and satisfaction with life, in an American
college sample. It was hypothesized that orthorexia would positively correlate with
anxiety and OCD, have a negative association with eating disorders, be more prevalent in
men, and that lower body-mass index would have a positive association with quality of
life. The results of the study indicated that there is not an association between anxiety,
OCD, and orthorexia, but that there is a positive association with symptoms of orthorexia
and disordered eating. The findings also indicate that there is a positive correlation
between low BMI and higher quality of life, and that there is no difference in the number
of orthorexia symptoms endorsed by men or women.

Date of Award	2012
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Russell Gruber (Supervisor)