Orthorexia Nervosa: An investigation of the construct and psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Eating Habits Questionnaire-21 (EHQ-21)
Caterina Novara, Susanna Pardini, Massimiliano Pastore, Claudio Mulatti
Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) refers to a marked concern about healthy eating which involves the avoidance
of foods considered unhealthy and excessive amounts of time dedicated to obtaining information on
the composition of foods and buying and preparing specific foods based on perceived healthy criteria.
The aims of this study were to describe ON features on the basis of scientific literature data and to
investigate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Eating Habits Questionnaire-21
(EHQ-21) through the conduction of a study made up of 204 non-clinical subjects. Results from
exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the EHQ-21 was a reliable measure made
up of three factors that assess knowledge of healthy eating (Knowledge), problems associated with
healthy eating (Problems) and feeling positively about healthy eating (Feelings).
The EHQ-21 total score correlates with the Eating Disorder Inventory-3-Referral Form (EDI-3-RF), which
assesses eating disorders symptoms, whilst relevant correlations between the EHQ-21 and other
measures that evaluate anxiety and depression did not emerge. These results support the possibility of
using the EHQ-21 with the Italian population.
Keywords
Orthorexia Nervosa, Questionnaire, Assessment, Psychometric Properties,
Eating Disorders.
