Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38951924›Full record

ArticleJournal of eating disorders2024

Striving for the perfect diet? The mediating role of perfectionism in the relationship between obsessive compulsive symptoms and traits of Orthorexia Nervosa.

Maddy Greville-Harris, Laura Vuillier, Summer Goodall, Catherine V Talbot, Cliona Walker, Katherine M Appleton

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Pathological Eating Patterns in Adults Displaying Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: A Scoping Review.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Maddy Greville-HarrisDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology Poole House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK. mgrevilleharris@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Laura VuillierDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology Poole House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK.
Summer GoodallDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology Poole House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK.
Catherine V TalbotDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology Poole House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK.
Cliona WalkerDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology Poole House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK.
Katherine M AppletonDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology Poole House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOrthorexia Nervosa (ON) is a disordered eating style involving an unhealthy obsession with 'healthy' or 'clean' eating. Its aetiology is still poorly understood and is not yet recognised in diagnostic manuals. While ON has been associated with Obsessive Compulsive (OC) symptoms and perfectionism, no study to date has looked at the relationship between OC symptoms and ON tendencies via perfectionism, or the influence of two facets of perfectionism in this relationship, namely evaluative concern and achievement striving. Examining the potential role of perfectionism helps to understand the aetiology of ON as well as inform potential treatments tailored specifically for ON and comorbid OC symptoms.

methodsIn this cross sectional study, we tested 507 participants (n = 70 males, n = 69 at risk of ON) on questionnaires measuring OC symptoms, perfectionism and ON symptoms. We ran two mediation analyses to look at the overall relationship between perfectionism and OC and ON symptoms (Model 1) as well as the specific contribution of evaluative concern and achievement striving in the relationship between OC and ON symptoms (Model 2).

resultsWe found that perfectionism partially mediated the relationship between OC and ON symptoms. Specifically, we found that while achievement striving and evaluative concern were associated with OC symptoms, only achievement striving was significantly associated with ON symptoms, mediating the relationship between OC and ON symptoms.

conclusionsThis study highlighted the role of one key facet of perfectionism (achievement striving) in the aetiology of ON. The role of achievement striving was indicated as a transdiagnostic construct explaining the link between ON and OC symptoms. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for treatment models, specifically in terms of the potential role of targeting perfectionism in ON treatment.

Indexed as

Achievement strivingDisordered eatingEvaluative concern, eating patternsObsessive-compulsive symptomsOrthorexia nervosaPerfectionism

Identifiers

PMID38951924
PMCPMC11218215

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.