Orthorexia nervosa versus healthy orthorexia: Anxiety, perfectionism, and mindfulness as risk and preventative factors of distress

Background: Orthorexia nervosa is a recently conceptualised pathological entity presenting as an obsessive focus on healthy eating with associated psychosocial impairment. Aims: The present study investigated the differential associations between orthorexia nervosa and healthy orthorexia with distress and impairment. Materials & Methods: With a community sample (N = 268) multiple measures of orthorexia nervosa and health orthorexia were compared as explanatory variables in mediation structural equation modelling (SEM). Outcome variables assessed and investigated were psychological distress while demographic variables were controlled. The mediating roles of perfectionism and health anxiety on orthorexia nervosa were examined with further preventative mediation role of mindfulness on distress. Results: Distinctive to other eating disorders, gender showed no significant effects on orthorexia nervosa and healthy orthorexia. Signalling measurement issues for this disorder, the different measures of orthorexia nervosa resulted in mixed findings regarding body mass index and age. Findings supported perfectionism and health anxiety as risk factors, as well as mindfulness acceptance as a preventative factor in both orthorexia nervosa and healthy orthorexia. Orthorexia nervosa and healthy orthorexia assessed by most measures, contrary to the expectations, had significant positive associations with psychological distress indicated by stress, anxiety, and depression. Discussion & Conclusion: The complexity in differentiating orthorexia nervosa from healthy orthorexia calls for further investigation. This research effort should serve to substantiate the status of orthorexia nervosa as a distinct clinical disorder.