Symptoms of Orthorexia Nervosa are associated with time spent on social media: a web-based survey in an Italian population sample

OBJECTIVE: Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is an eating disorder of growing interest that is characterized by an obsession with healthy eating. Nowadays, people spend an increasing amount of time on social media, which may negatively impact eating behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between social media usage and risk of ON. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We conducted an online survey using the 10-item Italian-Düsseldorf Orthorexia Scale questionnaire (I-DOS). A total of 4,107 individuals participated and were classified according to sex, age, education level, marital status, BMI, main occupation, and diet. RESULTS: The prevalence of ON was 28.5%. Participants who reported using social media for over 60 minutes per day had a higher prevalence of ON than those using social media for less than 15 minutes per day. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that longer time spent on social media is associated with ON.