The moralization of healthy eating from a psychonutritional perspective

Abstract

In the last few years, healthy eating has gained increasing relevance in public health discourse, wellness culture and social media. Although promoting healthy eating habits is a fundamental public health objective, it may also contribute to food choices extending beyond their nutritional purpose to acquire a moral meaning, whereby certain foods and eating practices are perceived as either good or bad and become indicators of discipline, self-control and personal responsibility. This perspective critically examines the process of food moralization, from its historical origins to its contemporary manifestations, highlighting the role of healthism, the medicalization of food and the influence of digital environments in reinforcing moralized food-related discourses. It also discusses the conceptual distinction between food moralization, guilt, stigma and dietary normalization to better define this construct and avoid its interchangeable use. Furthermore, the available evidence linking food moralization to cognitive rigidity, food-related guilt, shame, dietary restraint and orthorexia nervosa is reviewed, as these processes may increase vulnerability to the development and maintenance of eating disorders. From a psychonutritional perspective, this paper argues for expanding the clinical approach beyond nutritional adherence understood solely as compliance, by incorporating the assessment of meanings, emotions, context, flexibility, functionality and the long-term sustainability of dietary recommendations. It concludes that the central concern is not the promotion of healthy eating itself, but rather the attribution of moral value to food choices, thereby turning eating behaviors into an implicit measure of personal worth. Accordingly, this perspective advocates for nutrition education and clinical nutrition practices that foster a more flexible, context-sensitive, and sustainable relationship with food, free from moral judgment.