Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is the term for a proposed new eating disorder, used to describe a pathological obsession with healthy or ‘clean’ eating. For individuals with ON, the obsession with eating ‘healthy’ foods, and the elimination of foods considered ‘unhealthy’ or ‘impure’, results in impairment to social, physical, occupational and/or other areas of functioning. Whilst there is still debate as to whether ON describes a distinct eating disorder, and there is no consensus around diagnostic criteria as yet, ON is an emerging topic for research, with more cases coming to light both clinically, and in the media. Although some quantitative research has been carried out in ON, particularly focusing on the measurement and prevalence rates of this proposed disorder, no qualitative studies have been published to date to explore individuals’ personal experiences of ON. Thus, for this project, 40 pre-existing blog entries describing first-person experiences of ON from fifteen women bloggers were analysed using thematic analysis. Five key themes were identified: 1) confusion around diagnosis, 2) initial motivations for a healthier lifestyle, 3) fuelling the problem- social influences, 4) when healthy becomes unhealthy ..., and 5) avoidance, isolation and compensation. The clinical implications of these findings were explored, particularly focusing on the social context of ON, diagnostic crossover between ON and other eating disorders, and the role of fear, perfectionism and perceived control. Whilst the debate around the diagnosis of ON continues, these bloggers’ accounts suggest that ON is experienced as a legitimate and debilitating disorder, worthy of clinical and research investigation in its own right.

Bakgrund: 1997 introducerade den amerikanske läkaren och psykologen Steven Bratman Orthorexia Nervosa (ON), vilket är en relativt ny form av ätstörningsbeteende som kretsar kring en ohälsosam fixering kring hälsosam mat och naturlig föda. Sedermera har  ON övergått till att gestaltas som ett fenomen istället för ett begrepp, där träningsberoende (EA) kommit att utgöra ett påtagligt segment i fundamentet och definitionen av Orthorexia Nervosa. Syfte: Undersöka prevalens, ålders- respektive könsskillnader samt korrelationen mellan ON och EA hos deltagare som frekvent tränar på gym. Metod: Kvantitativ tvärsnittsundersökningen. En enkät, med EAI & ORTHO-15 som tillhörande mätinstrument, användes i studiedesignen. Datainsamlingen ägde rum hos tre separata gym vid fem tillfällen under en veckas tid. Totalt medverkade 112 deltagare i studien: 49 män (44 %) och 63 kvinnor (56 %) i åldrarna 18 -  79 år. Resultat: Åtta deltagare (7 %) låg inom riskzonerna för EA samtidigt som 44 (39 %) deltagare låg inom riskzonen för ON. Ålder spelar en påtaglig faktor gällande förhållningssättet till kosten, då det förekommer skillnader mellan olika åldersgrupper: gruppen Under 30 år visar i synnerhet högre andelar för ON (p= 0.005). Det råder en negativ korrelation (– 34 %) mellan mätinstrumenten EAI och ORTHO-15, vilket symboliserar ett destruktivt attribut gällande hälsan. Konklusion: Föreliggande studie ligger i linje med tidigare forskningsresultat inom samma område; det tycks finnas ett samband mellan mätinstrument gällande förhållningssättet till kosten och träningen, vilket mynnar ut i en ohälsosam strävan efter en perfekt hälsa.

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SAMMANFATTNING Titel: Ortorexia nervosa- Hälsa som blir ohälsa Institution: Institutionen för hälsa och lärande, Högskolan i Skövde Kurs: Examensarbete i folkhälsovetenskap, 15 högskolepoäng Författare: Bergendahl, Jessica; Östman, Evelina Handledare: Ekberg, Joakim Sidor: 23 Månad och år: 06/2014 Nyckelord: Ortorexia Nervosa, Hälsa, Psykisk ohälsa, Medias påverkan Bakgrund: En ny hälsosam livsstil börjar ofta med en god intention, men ibland kan den hälsosamma livsstilen gå för långt. Ortorexia nervosa var från början tänkt som ett sätt att benämna en grupp patienter med liknande problematik, tills det framkom att detta var något som behövde undersökas närmre. En person med ortorexi är besatt av en hälsosam diet som istället kan bli farlig. Mål: Att beskriva vad ortorexi innebär, vilken sjukdomsstatus den har samt om det finns klara direktiv kring behandling. Metod: Vi har undersökt litteratur, vetenskapliga artiklar samt genomfört intervjuer med personer som har behörig kompetens kring ortorexi. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys har använts. Resultat: Ortorexia nervosa är ingen diagnos. Det är svårt att fastställa exakt vad de utlösande faktorerna är, dock är det troligt att det handlar om ett kontrollbehov. Med hjälp av en extremt hälsosam diet skapas en känsla av att ha kontroll. Media verkar ha stor inverkan. Slutsats: Slutsaten blev att mer forskning krävs inom området för att kunna fastställa vad ortorexia nervosa egentligen är. Ortorexia nervosa anses vara när en person försöker leva för hälsosamt och genom att strikt kontrollera kosten uppstår istället ohälsa. / ABSTRACT Title: Orthorexia Nervosa- Healthy turning unhealthy Department: School of Life Sciences, University of Skövde Course: University Diploma Project in Public Health Science,15 ECTS Author: Bergendahl, Jessica; Östman, Evelina Supervisor: Ekberg, Joakim Pages: 23 Month and year: 06/2014 Keywords: Orthorexia Nervosa, Health, Mental illness, Media influences Background: A healthier way of life often starts out with good intentions, but sometimes people take their healthy lifestyle too far. Orthorexia nervosa was meant to be a description for a group of people with similar problems, until it was clear that there might be more behind it. A person with orthorexia is obsessed with healthy dieting and takes it to the extreme. Aim: To investigate what orthorexia is and if there are clear guidelines about treatment. Method: We have studied literature, scientific articles, and completed interviews with people qualified in the fields of orthorexia. A qualitative study based on a content analysis was performed. Results: Orthorexia nervosa has no status of diagnosis. It is difficult to determine exactly what triggers orthorexia, however, it is likely that it is a need of control. Using an extremely healthy diet creates the feeling of being in control. Media seems to influence this. Conclusion: The conclusion was that more research is needed in order to decide what orthorexia nervosa actually stands for. Orthorexia nervosa is considered when a person tries to live as healthy as possible but by strictly controlling their diet illness occurs.

Kan kroppsuppskattning och instagramanvändning predicera Ortorexi? Ortorexi är ett växande fenomen som innebär maniskt hälsosamt ätande som kan påverka ens livsstil negativt. Även instagramanvändning blir allt mer populärt och används i allt högre grad av dagens unga vuxna i Sverige. Aktiv användning av social media har associerats med en sämre kroppsbild. Den här studiens syfte var att ta reda på om grad av kroppsuppskattning och instagramanvändning predicerar ortorexi. En enkätundersökning genomfördes på 228 studenter vid Örebro universitet. Resultatet visade att människor som har ett högre missnöje med sin kropp har större benägenhet att vara fixerade av att äta hälsosamt. Vi såg även att människor som använder instagram i högre utsträckning har en större fixering av att äta hälsosamt. Studiens fynd tillsammans med förslag till vidare forskning inom ortorexi diskuteras. / Could body appreciation and Instagram use predict Orthorexia? Orthorexia is a growing phenomena that means a manic degree of eating healthy that could affect one’s lifestyle negatively. Instagram usage is becoming increasingly more popular and are used more and more frequently among the younger adults in Sweden. An active use of social media has been associated with a lower appreciation to one’s body. This study aims to find out if the degree of body appreciation and Instagram usage predicts Orthorexia. A survey was conducted on 228 students at Örebro University. The results showed that people that have a higher degree of dissatisfaction to one’s body are more likely to be fixated of eating healthy. We also noticed that people that used Instagram more frequently have a higher fixation of eating healthy. The findings of the study together with suggestions for further research within orthorexia is discussed.

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TITLE: Awareness of students selected secondary schools on the issue orthorexia AUTHOR: Bc. Karolína Janečková DEPARTMENT: Pedagogy department SUPERVISOR: PaedDr. Eva Marádová, CSc. ABSTRACT: The topic of my dissertation is orthorexia nervosa, one of the modern eating disorders, and the impact of a Czech school on its development. The aim of this dissertation is to identify what knowledge about orthorexia issues the secondary medical school students have, what is their opinion on eating disorders, and to suggest a sample lesson focusing on this problem. To prove this fact, a quantitative research through a questionnaire has been used. This research was implemented in selected secondary medical schools and grammar schools. The results clearly indicate that students do not have sufficient knowledge about orthorexia and that the difference in the knowledge of medical students at secondary schools and grammar schools is negligible, although the composition of their diet is more concerned with secondary medical school students. In view of the fact of these and other findings, a draft of a sample lesson focusing on the issue of eating disorders and orthorexia has been developed. KEY WORDS: Orthorexia nervosa, eating disorders, Health education, excessive interests in healthy diet, diets, nourishment.

This project presents dance as treatment for Orthorexia Nervosa, an eating disorder defined as an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. Eating disorders disconnect body, mind, and spirit of an individual, and dance therapeutically connects these aspects. The specific effects of orthorexia on the body, mind, and spirit are analyzed; supported by evidence from research sources such as literature of books and scholarly journals, videos, an interview with board-certified dance/movement therapist Rachel Gonick-Mefferd, and a series of interviews with Dr. Thomas Doyle, in which he supplied a case study exemplifying dance as treatment for orthorexia. Conclusively, eating disorders and specifically orthorexia affect one’s entire being — physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual health — and interfere with one’s entire life and daily functioning. Dance, as a holistic therapeutic approach, is effective in addressing and remedying every single one of these elements, healing one’s whole self. Therefore, it is suggested that dance may be an effective treatment for orthorexia.

The diploma thesis is focused on orthorexia nervosa in connection with OCD. Theoretical part contains introduction, diagnostic criteria and methods of measuring. Increasing attention is given to risk groups and factors, which can affect the development of both disorders. Moreover, treatment options and comparison with other mental disorders are presented. The last part of theoretical part is focused on athletes in fitness centers, which are research subjects in the practical part of the thesis. The main goal of practical part is to find out connection between orthorexia nervosa and OCD in selected group of respondents (N=203). Main research survey has quantitative design. The ORTO-15 and Obsessive - Compulsive Inventory (OCI) surveys are used. Statistical analysis shows statistically significant correlation between orthorexia symptoms and obsessive - compulsive disorder symptoms. There is not any significant correlation between orthorexia and training frequency. However, there is statistically significant correlation between orthorexia symptoms and training frequency. The results also show that the occurrence of orthorexia is not sex-linked. Interviews with some responders have been added to research survey (N = 6). The gathered data were processed open coding and presented card unloading...

The diploma thesis is focused on orthorexia nervosa in connection with OCD. Theoretical part contains introduction, diagnostic criteria and methods of measuring. Increasing attention is given to risk groups and factors, which can affect the development of both disorders. Moreover, treatment options and comparison with other mental disorders are presented. The last part of theoretical part is focused on athletes in fitness centers, which are research subjects in the practical part of the thesis. The main goal of practical part is to find out connection between orthorexia nervosa and OCD in selected group of respondents (N=203). Main research survey has quantitative design. The ORTO-15 and Obsessive - Compulsive Inventory (OCI) surveys are used. Statistical analysis shows statistically significant correlation between orthorexia symptoms and obsessive - compulsive disorder symptoms. There is not any significant correlation between orthorexia and training frequency. However, there is statistically significant correlation between orthorexia symptoms and training frequency. The results also show that the occurrence of orthorexia is not sex-linked. Interviews with some responders have been added to research survey (N = 6). The gathered data were processed open coding and presented card unloading...