Diagnoxia Nervosa: A Critique of the Quest to Validate Orthorexia Nervosa

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a term coined to describe clinical cases of individuals obsessing over quality of food to the point of leading to nutritional deficiencies and related health complications. Some researchers advocate for ON to be medicalized as a formal diagnosis. Research on this topic is disproportionately focused on correlational, individual factors into the etiology of ON while the minority consider sociocultural factors into the development of this trend. I argue that this research trend is questionable, with overly narrow focus on individual symptomatology, a lack of consideration for sociocultural context, and a lack of disprovable hypotheses, leading to hindered clarity and quality of research findings. I argue in favor of clarifying distinctions between the role of researchers searching for a fuller understanding of the matter, the role of clinicians in taking reactive measures aiding orthorexic clients, and the role of preventative health care specialists in taking proactive measures addressing trending orthorexic behaviors exhibited in society.