The Role of Social Media Addiction, Depression, Rumination and Disordered Eating Behaviours in Orthorexia Nervosa Symptoms

Today's Western culture attaches great importance to adopting healthy eating habits, but this concern can become an obsession, increasing the risk of orthorexia nervosa. The aim of this study is to explore the relationships between orthorexia symptoms and symptoms of social media addiction, rumination, depression and eating disorders. A total of 321 adults (255 women and 66 men), with a mean age of 23.06 years (SD = 5.35), took part in the study. We administered self-reported instruments assessing symptoms of orthorexia nervosa, social media addiction, depression, ruminative response to eating disorders (ED) and disordered eating behaviours. The results revealed that 46.7% of participants in the study showed a high risk of presenting orthorexia nervosa symptoms. Additionally, the symptoms of eating disorders, depression, and ED-specific rumination (brooding and reflective) showed significant positive associations with, and direct and indirect effects on, orthorexia nervosa symptoms. These findings suggest these variables may play an important role in orthorexia nervosa symptoms.