Introduction
Orthorexia nervosa, a term used to describe an obsession with healthy eating, has been
shown to have major health implications for those affected. The aim of this study was to validate
a Spanish version of the Du¨ sseldorfer Ortorexie Skala (DOS), a questionnaire for the
detection of orthorexic behavior.
Methods
A cross-sectional study comprising a total sample of 492 Spanish participants recruited from
the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, and randomly divided into two groups. The following
tools were applied: the DOS and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-2). The factorial
structures were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis.
Results
The internal consistency of the DOS-ES was α = .841. The exploratory factor analysis has
revealed the existence of a single factor with factor loadings ranging from .508 to .802. A
confirmatory factor analysis was applied to the second half of the random sample in order to
confirm the factor solution.
Conclusion
The Spanish adaptation of the DOS-ES is proven to be a reliable and valid questionnaire for
evaluating the obsessive tendency towards healthy eating among university students.