Are the Motives for Food Choices Different in Orthorexia Nervosa and Healthy Orthorexia?

Abstract

Recent research points to the bidimensional nature of orthorexia, with one dimension related to interest in healthy eating (healthy orthorexia) and another dimension related to a pathological preoccupation with eating healthily (orthorexia nervosa). Research was needed to provide further support for this differentiation. We examined the food-choice motives related to both aspects of orthorexia. Participants were 460 students from a Spanish university who completed the Teruel Orthorexia Scale and the Food Choice Questionnaire. By means of structural equation modeling, we analyzed the relationship between orthorexia, food-choice motives, gender, body mass index, and age. The motives predicting food choices in orthorexia nervosa and healthy orthorexia were quite different. In the case of orthorexia nervosa, the main motive was weight control, with sensorial appeal and affect regulation also showing significant associations. For healthy orthorexia, the main motive was health content, with sensorial appeal and price also showing significant associations. This supports the hypothesis that orthorexia nervosa is associated with maladaptive eating behavior motived more by weight control than by health concerns.

Selective attentional bias to food-related stimuli in healthy individuals with characteristics towards orthorexia nervosa

“…Validation of each approach as a function of attentional preference for relevant stimuli would be a useful addition to the literature. However, given that recent work argues for the dissociation in food choice motivations between so-called healthy ON (an interest in healthy eating) and ON (a pathology characterized by the pre-occupation with healthy eating) [66], and that this distinction is articulated fully in the development of the TOS, future work should examine the nature of any observed bias in information processing as further evidence for any possible cognitively based indices. A second potential limitation refers to the fact that the stimuli used in the Stroop task may not fully match individual differences in the importance ascribed to these stimuli.…”

Orthorexic Tendency and Eating Disorders Symptoms in Polish Students: Examining Differences in Eating Behaviors

“…The psychometric properties of these tools have been tested, showing good internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, and good construct validity [38,66,67]. Therefore, given the validity and reliability of data from these tools, they are good alternative to measuring of ON tendency for ORTO-15 questionnaire [61,68,69]. In spite of its limitations, ORTO-15 is frequently used as it allows comparing the results obtained.…”

Interaction between Vegetarian Versus Omnivorous Diet and Unhealthy Eating Patterns (Orthorexia Nervosa, Cognitive Restraint) and Body Mass Index in Adults

“…This unhealthy eating pattern is associated with excessive time spent preparing food, inflexible dietary rules, recurrent and persistent preoccupations related to "pure" or "clean" food, rigid avoidance of foods considered "unhealthy", compulsive behaviors, distress at violation of food rules, as well as consequent, clinically significant, impairment (e.g., medical or psychological complications, social isolation, and/or impairment in important areas of functioning) [5][6][7]. Recently, the bidimensional nature of orthorexia nervosa was proposed: with one dimension related to healthy interest in diet and healthy behavior with regard to diet (a protective factor against emotional distress) named healthy orthorexia (HeOr) and another dimension related to a pathological preoccupation with Nutrients 2020, 12, 646 2 of 14 eating healthily (a new variant of disordered eating related to negative affect) named orthorexia nervosa (OrNe) [8][9][10]. The findings have demonstrated that OrNe is more common among vegetarians and vegans, compared to people who are not adhering to a special diet [9].…”

“…Recently, the bidimensional nature of orthorexia nervosa was proposed: with one dimension related to healthy interest in diet and healthy behavior with regard to diet (a protective factor against emotional distress) named healthy orthorexia (HeOr) and another dimension related to a pathological preoccupation with Nutrients 2020, 12, 646 2 of 14 eating healthily (a new variant of disordered eating related to negative affect) named orthorexia nervosa (OrNe) [8][9][10]. The findings have demonstrated that OrNe is more common among vegetarians and vegans, compared to people who are not adhering to a special diet [9]. In addition, the latest review of the literature [11] reveals that following a vegetarian diet was found to be associated with orthorexic eating behaviors (in 11 out of 14 studies published within the last five years).…”