Orthorexia nervosa is characterized by a pathological obsession with healthy eating,
in which the goal of those who suffer from this condition is to reach a state of optimum
health. In this sense, the practice of physical exercise provides several health benefits,
in addition, its relationship with the psychopathology of other eating disorders is well
known. Therefore, studies have sought to investigate a possible relationship between
orthorexia nervosa and physical exercise, however, this association has been
investigated recently, so it is necessary to obtain a better understanding of this theme.
The aim of this study is to present a narrative review of the literature on the relationship
between orthorexia nervosa and physical exercise. Searches were carried out for
articles in the PUBMED, SCIELO, GOOGLE SCHOLAR and CAPES databases. After
analysing the studies, a positive association between orthorexia nervosa and higher
frequency of physical exercise was evidenced in several samples used in the
researches, in addition, some studies revealed the presence of dysfunctional behavior
related to physical exercise in individuals with orthorexia nervosa, presenting
characteristics of obsession, compulsion and rigidity. These results demonstrate that
physical exercise appears to play a role in the psychopathology of orthorexia nervosa.
However, due to the methodological limitations of some studies included in this
research, it is not possible to know to what extent these findings are relevant to
designate physical exercise as one of the indicatives of orthorexia nervosa or even to
establish a causal relationship between both factors. It is suggested that future studies
on this topic use more reliable questionnaires, aiming to increase the degree of
reliability of the results obtained.
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