Date of Graduation

Summer 2027

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Clinical Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chairperson

Deanne Zotter, PhD

Committee Member

Erin Hill, PhD

Committee Member

Christine Karpinksi, PhD, RD, CSSD, LDN

Committee Member

Kelsey Blum, PsyD

Abstract

Orthorexia nervosa is a novel type of disordered eating characterized by a hyper fixation on the consumption of clean, healthy, and morally pure foods as delineated by the individual (Dunn & Bratman, 2016). Previous studies have suggested that individuals studying physical health-related subjects such as nutrition and exercise science endorse more orthorexia nervosa symptoms than those in non-physical health-related areas (Malmborg et al., 2017; Plichta & Jezewska-Zychowicz, 2019). The present study sought to explore the relationship between college major, gender, and levels of body appreciation in the frequency of orthorexia nervosa symptomatology. It also aimed to assess orthorexia nervosa's relationship to symptoms of traditional eating disorders to provide potential support for the argument of orthorexia nervosa as a distinct disorder. Participants were 686 undergraduate students, with 130 majoring in a physical health-related discipline. Participants completed five questionnaires assessing their attitudes and behaviors around orthorexia symptoms, traditional eating disorder symptoms, and body appreciation. The findings revealed no significant differences across college major on the presence of orthorexia symptoms. Significant gender differences were revealed, with women scoring higher on a measure of orthorexia than men. A strong, positive relationship was found between orthorexia nervosa symptoms and other symptoms of traditional eating disorders. Further, restraint and shape concern were found to strongly predict orthorexia symptoms. This suggests orthorexia nervosa may be related to anorexia nervosa and not a separate disorder as previously believed. Future research and interventions for eating disorders should be adapted to include orthorexia nervosa presentations.

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