| Title |
The clinical basis of orthorexia nervosa: emerging perspectives
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, February 2015
|
| DOI | 10.2147/ndt.s61665 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Nancy S Koven, Alexandra W Abry |
| Abstract |
Orthorexia nervosa describes a pathological obsession with proper nutrition that is characterized by a restrictive diet, ritualized patterns of eating, and rigid avoidance of foods believed to be unhealthy or impure. Although prompted by a desire to achieve optimum health, orthorexia may lead to nutritional deficiencies, medical complications, and poor quality of life. Despite its being a distinct behavioral pattern that is frequently observed by clinicians, orthorexia has received very little empirical attention and is not yet formally recognized as a psychiatric disorder. In this review, we synthesize existing research to identify what is known about the symptoms, prevalence, neuropsychological profile, and treatment of orthorexia. An examination of diagnostic boundaries reveals important points of symptom overlap between orthorexia and anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), somatic symptom disorder, illness anxiety disorder, and psychotic spectrum disorders. Neuropsychological data suggest that orthorexic symptoms are independently associated with key facets of executive dysfunction for which some of these conditions already overlap. Discussion of cognitive weaknesses in set-shifting, external attention, and working memory highlights the value of continued research to identify intermediate, transdiagnostic endophenotypes for insight into the neuropathogenesis of orthorexia. An evaluation of current orthorexia measures indicates a need for further psychometric development to ensure that subsequent research has access to reliable and valid assessment tools. Optimized assessment will not only permit a clearer understanding of prevalence rates, psychosocial risk factors, and comorbid psychopathology but will also be needed to index intervention effectiveness. Though the field lacks data on therapeutic outcomes, current best practices suggest that orthorexia can successfully be treated with a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychoeducation, and medication. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 61 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 20 | 33% |
| United Kingdom | 5 | 8% |
| Canada | 4 | 7% |
| Japan | 3 | 5% |
| France | 3 | 5% |
| Finland | 1 | 2% |
| Sweden | 1 | 2% |
| Montenegro | 1 | 2% |
| Germany | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 3 | 5% |
| Unknown | 19 | 31% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 46 | 75% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 8 | 13% |
| Scientists | 4 | 7% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 3 | 5% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 662 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 1 | <1% |
| Australia | 1 | <1% |
| Brazil | 1 | <1% |
| Czechia | 1 | <1% |
| New Zealand | 1 | <1% |
| Spain | 1 | <1% |
| United States | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 655 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 129 | 19% |
| Student > Master | 109 | 16% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 60 | 9% |
| Researcher | 34 | 5% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 33 | 5% |
| Other | 101 | 15% |
| Unknown | 196 | 30% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 165 | 25% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 95 | 14% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 78 | 12% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 27 | 4% |
| Social Sciences | 16 | 2% |
| Other | 65 | 10% |
| Unknown | 216 | 33% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 362. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 12 September 2023.
All research outputs
#88,341
of 25,463,724 outputs
Outputs from Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
#13
of 3,135 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#918
of 361,610 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
#2
of 58 outputs
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