J Educ Res Nurs. 2025; 22(2): 136-142 | DOI: 10.14744/jern.2025.26779

Obsession with Healthy Eating in Pregnancy Scale: Instrument Development and Cross-sectional Validation Study

Ayşe Taştekin¹, Pınar Çiçekoğlu Öztürk², Rıza Dur^3
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing, Afyonkarahisar University of Health Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences, Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye
²Department of Psychiatric Nursing, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Fethiye Faculty of Health Sciences, Muğla, Türkiye
³Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Afyonkarahisar University of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye

Background: Orthorexia nervosa (ON) during pregnancy is an important yet often overlooked issue that requires attention. Screening pregnant women who exhibit an obsession with healthy eating is crucial for identifying risk factors and ensuring a qualified nursing process. However, there is currently no valid and reliable ON scale specifically designed for pregnant women.

Aim: This study aimed to develop a measurement tool to assess the obsession with healthy eating during pregnancy and to evaluate its psychometric properties.

Methods: A scale development and cross-sectional validation study was conducted with 539 pregnant women at the obstetrics and gynecology clinic of a university hospital in Türkiye. Preliminary scale items were generated through a comprehensive literature review. A total of 31 preliminary items underwent item-total correlation analyses. Factor analyses and reliability assessments were then performed.

Results: Factor analysis revealed a 12-item scale with a four-factor structure: concern for the baby’s health, healthy orthorexia, orthorexia nervosa, and restricted eating motivation. The scale demonstrated acceptable construct validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency (α=0.83), and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.918).

Conclusion: The results suggest that the scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing symptoms of an obsession with healthy eating during pregnancy, in both research and clinical practice settings. The scale is potentially valuable, as it facilitates the identification of such obsessions and supports improvements in the quality of perinatal care.

Keywords: Healthy eating, instrument development, obsession, pregnancy, validation study

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