Digitally driven: diet-monitoring app use, perfectionism, and eating concerns

Abstract Purpose Research has shown that disordered eating is greater in diet app users compared to nonusers. Because these apps focus predominantly on numerical values and goals (e.g. calorie counts, weight change goals), perfectionism may contribute to an individual’s experience of maladaptive outcomes related to their use. The present study investigated the links between diet-monitoring app use, dimensions of perfectionism, disordered eating attitudes, and orthorexic tendencies. The moderating role of perfectionism in the relationship between app use and disordered eating attitudes and orthorexic tendencies was also tested. Methods An online survey was completed by 386 female participants recruited in Australia (17–35 years, M = 19.86, SD = 3.22). A correlation analysis, independent samples t-test, and chi-square analysis were used to examine relations between variables and differences between groups, respectively. Moderation was tested via PROCESS (Model 1). Results Users of diet-monitoring apps showed greater concern over mistakes ( d = −0.32), disordered eating attitudes ( d = −0.83), and orthorexic tendencies ( d = −0.86) than nonusers. Concern over mistakes moderated the relationship between diet-monitoring app use and orthorexic tendencies, accounting for a small amount of variance. Conclusion Perfectionism (in particular concern over mistakes) is an important variable in the context of diet-monitoring apps. Individuals who use these apps appear to show greater attention to healthy eating overall; however, a subset of app users may display maladaptive levels of orthorexia. Individuals who experience broader disordered eating attitudes related to diet-monitoring apps may do so regardless of their level of perfectionism. Further research is needed to replicate and confirm the results. Level of evidence Level III: Cross-sectional analytic study.