‘Wellness’ lifts us above the Food Chaos’: a narrative exploration of the experiences and conceptualisations of Orthorexia Nervosa through online social media forums

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Author
Cinquegrani, Chelsea
Brown, David
Date
2018-04-27Acceptance date
2018-04-10
Type
Article
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
ISSN
2159-676X
2159-6778 (online)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The increasing prevalence of eating disorders has motivated a burgeoning of research from narrative methods to illuminate the cultural and social aspects of disordered eating habits. A seemingly new eating disorder, Orthorexia Nervosa, has gained visibility through the internet sphere and popular media, though scholarly attention has been scarce. This study develops qualitative understandings of the fixation with ‘clean eating’ through narrative inquiry by employing an internet ethnographic approach. Data were analysed using a thematic narrative analysis, focusing on parallels and divergences across narratives presented online. This article presents 30 male and female voices, illustrating how these individuals understand their eating habits through narratives of pursuit, resistance and recovery, which are largely motivated by the desire for physical, emotional and social change. Crucially, this study illuminates a range of cultural elements enabling eating disorders in response to the transmission of cultural values online set within the broader context and processes of reflexive-modernisation.
Journal/conference proceeding
Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health;
Citation
Cinquegrani, C. and Brown, D.H. (2018) '‘Wellness’ lifts us above the Food Chaos’: a narrative exploration of the experiences and conceptualisations of Orthorexia Nervosa through online social media forums', Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 10 (5), pp.585-603
Description
Article published in Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health available at https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2018.1464501
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
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