Racial and Ethnic Differences in Orthorexia Nervosa Symptomatology and Other Disordered Eating

While some research has explored racial and ethnic differences in disordered eating, this study may be the first to examine these differences in orthorexia nervosa, involving obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors concerning healthy eating, which negatively impact one’s life. Adult participants, recruited from college courses and social media, completed an online survey with the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI) and the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26). Regarding racial and ethnic background, 743 were White, 249 were Hispanic, 87 were Black, 61 were Asian or Pacific Islander, and 110 were biracial/multiracial. A MANCOVA revealed that the racial and ethnic groups did not differ on the ONI subscales assessing orthorexic behaviors, impairments, and emotions, after accounting for gender, BMI, and EAT-26 total scores that were covariates. In contrast, a second MANCOVA did reveal group differences on the EAT-26 subscales, after accounting for gender, BMI, and ONI total scores that were covariates. Black participants scored significantly lower than the other racial and ethnic groups on the subscale assessing dieting behaviors characteristic of anorexia nervosa, and the subscale assessing binge-eating and purging behaviors characteristic of bulimia nervosa. Further, Hispanic participants scored significantly lower than White participants on the latter subscale. These findings suggest that while orthorexic symptomatology does not differ based on race and ethnicity, a Black race and Hispanic ethnicity may be protective factors against disordered eating, perhaps related either to cultural norms concerning body image or to the resiliency and social support among the Black and Hispanic communities.