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April 10, 2026Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology0 citations

A Continuously Cumulating Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Perfectionism and Orthorexia in Exercisers

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VPVerity B. PrattAHAndrew P. HillDMDaniel J. Madigan

Key Points

  • This research aims to clarify the relationship between perfectionism and orthorexia in those involved in exercise.
  • Conducted a continuously cumulating meta-analysis with a preregistered protocol.
  • Recruited three samples of gym members, functional athletes, and runners, totaling 1,717 participants.
  • Analyzed the correlations between perfectionism and orthorexia.
  • Orthorexia showed a medium, positive relationship with perfectionistic strivings (r+ = .31).
  • A small-to-medium positive relationship was found with perfectionistic concerns (r+ = .26).
  • Both dimensions of perfectionism are identified as potential risk factors for orthorexia.

Abstract

A recent meta-analysis found that perfectionism was related to orthorexia (obsessive healthy eating). However, the meta-analysis included only three samples from the sport and exercise domain, so estimates were imprecise and, for perfectionistic concerns, unclear. We conducted a continuously cumulating meta-analysis to update these estimates. Following a preregistered protocol, with open data and code, we recruited three samples-255 gym members (age: 32.92 years, SD = 8.58), 297 functional athletes (age: 33.89 years, SD = 8.65), and 278 runners (age: 41.15 years, SD = 13.14). Reanalysis of meta-analytical effects incorporating these samples (total N = 1,717) showed that orthorexia had a medium, positive relationship with perfectionistic strivings (r+ = .31, 95% CI .15, .46) and a small-to-medium positive, relationship with perfectionistic concerns (r+ = .26, 95% CI .11, .40). The findings confirm that both dimensions of perfectionism are potential risk factors for orthorexia in the sport and exercise domain.

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Cite This Study

Pratt et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d892d16c1944d70ce0413dhttps://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2025-0145
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