Beyond healthy eating: introducing ONI-Hu, the Hungarian version of the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory

The aim of this study was to adapt the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory for use in Hungarian (ONI-Hu), and explore its associations with disordered eating, intuitive eating and mental health measures.

944 participants completed a test battery, including ONI-Hu, the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire, the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 and the Mental Health Continuum Short-Form. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to assess the validity of ONI-Hu. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the convergent and discriminant validity.

CFA confirmed the original three-factor structure of ONI-Hu. Positive associations were found between ONI scores and restrictive eating behaviors, and negative associations with intuitive eating measures. Furthermore, the ONI composite factor score displayed no significant relationship with mental health indicators.

ONI-Hu exhibits strong reliability and validity, and provides a deeper understanding of ON. Results suggest that orthorexic behaviors may serve as a coping mechanism, offering an illusion of control and emotional security. Inconsistent findings about the relationship between ON tendencies and mental health indicators propose that the sense of control might provide a false sense of well-being to the individual, distorting their perceptions of their overall health. Level of evidence Level V, descriptive cross-sectional study.