Orthorexia nervosa: Healthy habit or pathology? Experiences and expansion of the consciousness of the correct diet

Aim: Exploring the lived experience of women concerned about following a healthy and sustainable diet: subjectivity, ideas, descriptive concepts, and constitutive strategies. Method: Based on the epistemological paradigm of phenomenology, the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism, and t...

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Main Authors: Ginés Mateo-Martínez, Antonio Vázquez-Sellán, María Luisa Díaz-Martínez, María Carmen Sellán-Soto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-02-01
Series:Heliyon
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025006346
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author Ginés Mateo-Martínez
Antonio Vázquez-Sellán
María Luisa Díaz-Martínez
María Carmen Sellán-Soto
author_facet Ginés Mateo-Martínez
Antonio Vázquez-Sellán
María Luisa Díaz-Martínez
María Carmen Sellán-Soto
author_sort Ginés Mateo-Martínez
collection DOAJ
description Aim: Exploring the lived experience of women concerned about following a healthy and sustainable diet: subjectivity, ideas, descriptive concepts, and constitutive strategies. Method: Based on the epistemological paradigm of phenomenology, the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism, and the methodological perspective of phenomenological reduction, a qualitative discourse analysis was performed through different strategies (thematic content analysis and interpretive phenomenological analysis, applying ad hoc techniques). Findings: The phenomenological field of healthy eating intermittently unfolds in both experience and discourse, akin to a process of expansion and contraction, in the narrative “Expanding the Consciousness of Healthy Eating”. This encompasses two main themes: (1) Researching and Gathering Information, with the subthemes ‘Health Socialisation,’ ‘My Purchase: Assessing Food Reliability,’ ‘Moral Burden,’ and ‘Compensation as a Mechanism of Channelling Deviation’; and (2) Becoming Healthier, with the subthemes ‘Highlighting Benefits,’ ‘Marketing as a Pandemic Resource of Ideals,’ and ‘Is the Clinical Eye of the Family a Stigmatising Label?'. Conclusion: The process of becoming healthier entails a struggle with the environment and with one's inner self. This struggle is open to the entire world and guided by the unalienable tenets of health, respectfulness, goodness, and beauty as ‘the only alternative’ to the suffering caused by a conventional diet.
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spelling doaj-art-6463ddff9778463383170efef057e0bd2025-01-30T05:14:41ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-02-01113e42254Orthorexia nervosa: Healthy habit or pathology? Experiences and expansion of the consciousness of the correct dietGinés Mateo-Martínez0Antonio Vázquez-Sellán1María Luisa Díaz-Martínez2María Carmen Sellán-Soto3Corresponding author.; Nursing Department, Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid, SpainNursing Department, Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid, SpainNursing Department, Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid, SpainNursing Department, Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid, SpainAim: Exploring the lived experience of women concerned about following a healthy and sustainable diet: subjectivity, ideas, descriptive concepts, and constitutive strategies. Method: Based on the epistemological paradigm of phenomenology, the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism, and the methodological perspective of phenomenological reduction, a qualitative discourse analysis was performed through different strategies (thematic content analysis and interpretive phenomenological analysis, applying ad hoc techniques). Findings: The phenomenological field of healthy eating intermittently unfolds in both experience and discourse, akin to a process of expansion and contraction, in the narrative “Expanding the Consciousness of Healthy Eating”. This encompasses two main themes: (1) Researching and Gathering Information, with the subthemes ‘Health Socialisation,’ ‘My Purchase: Assessing Food Reliability,’ ‘Moral Burden,’ and ‘Compensation as a Mechanism of Channelling Deviation’; and (2) Becoming Healthier, with the subthemes ‘Highlighting Benefits,’ ‘Marketing as a Pandemic Resource of Ideals,’ and ‘Is the Clinical Eye of the Family a Stigmatising Label?'. Conclusion: The process of becoming healthier entails a struggle with the environment and with one's inner self. This struggle is open to the entire world and guided by the unalienable tenets of health, respectfulness, goodness, and beauty as ‘the only alternative’ to the suffering caused by a conventional diet.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025006346Orthorexia nervosaNursingMental healthEating disordersQualitative research
spellingShingle Ginés Mateo-Martínez
Antonio Vázquez-Sellán
María Luisa Díaz-Martínez
María Carmen Sellán-Soto
Orthorexia nervosa: Healthy habit or pathology? Experiences and expansion of the consciousness of the correct diet
Heliyon
Orthorexia nervosa
Nursing
Mental health
Eating disorders
Qualitative research
title Orthorexia nervosa: Healthy habit or pathology? Experiences and expansion of the consciousness of the correct diet
title_full Orthorexia nervosa: Healthy habit or pathology? Experiences and expansion of the consciousness of the correct diet
title_fullStr Orthorexia nervosa: Healthy habit or pathology? Experiences and expansion of the consciousness of the correct diet
title_full_unstemmed Orthorexia nervosa: Healthy habit or pathology? Experiences and expansion of the consciousness of the correct diet
title_short Orthorexia nervosa: Healthy habit or pathology? Experiences and expansion of the consciousness of the correct diet
title_sort orthorexia nervosa healthy habit or pathology experiences and expansion of the consciousness of the correct diet
topic Orthorexia nervosa
Nursing
Mental health
Eating disorders
Qualitative research
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025006346
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