While it is difficult to argue that a healthy diet is unhealthy, anything taken to the extreme can become debilitating. Orthorexia Nervosa is not simply living a minority lifestyle in terms of food. It is becoming so caught up in eating “right” that food consumption is not a pleasure but rather a full-time job with some unsavory fringe benefits.
Definition of Orthorexia Nervosa
Something Fishy (a website dedicated to various eating disorgers) defines Orthorexia Nervosa as “an obsession with a ‘pure’ diet, where it interferes with a person's life. It becomes a way of life filled with chronic concern for the quality of food being consumed.”
Orthorexics typically spend huge chunks of time thinking about and planning healthy meals. Meal planning is, of course, not a bad thing. It’s when other activities are compromised that an obsession with healthy meal planning becomes problematic. Orthorexics may spend hours and hours mentally putting together meals or making lists and adjusting recipes. Other life interests take a back seat to meal planning and cooking.
In addition to personal reading and research on foods and meals, Orthorexics often call food companies and restaurants for additional information on products. They begin to worry about unlisted ingredients and about contamination during the processing of food products.
Finding food becomes more and more difficult, and food bills often put a strain on budgets of those suffering from Orthorexia Nervosa. It can get quite expensive searching out and purchasing specialty foods that meet personal quality standards set by Orthorexics.
The food “no-no” list becomes lengthier as those suffering with Orthorexia Nervosa become afraid to “chance” consuming unsafe or impure foods. As the list grows longer, it is virtually impossible for an Orthorexic to eat outside the home, so social isolation becomes an issue as noted on Wise Geek online.
Signs of Orthorexia Nervosa
Bratman offers ten signs of Orthorexia Nervosa in his book Health Food Junkies. These symptoms range from spending more than three hours a day thinking about healthy foods to feeling a sense of “control” when making food selections.
Generally speaking, the disorder becomes an issue when food becomes such an obsession that other areas of life are compromised or when a sufferer becomes malnourished or sick, because he or she is unable to consume enough food due to concerns about food safety or purity. Typically starvation is not an issue with ON, though Bratman has documented at least one unofficial case of death attributed informally to Orthorexia Nervosa.
Just Another Buzz Term for Social Differences?
A quick Google search of Orthorexia Nervosa will pull up a number of articles and blog posts suggesting that Orthorexia is a fad term created to sell books or that naming this condition is just another opportunity to classify differences as mental illness.
On the other hand, physicians including Bratman have been documenting field cases of this “health food disease.” A number of individuals have self diagnosed this condition, and family members on message boards post questions and concerns about eating patterns of loved ones that closely match the condition identified and named by Bratman.
Orthorexia Nervosa is Not Currently a Recognized Mental Illness
Orthorexia is not currently listed in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) which is the standard reference for recognized psychiatric conditions; therefore, the current definition is informal and based simply on observation. Typically those displaying food obsessions related to healthy eating are classified as Anorexic or as suffering from a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Regardless of the label, certainly some individuals have issues with food and meals. Disorders such as Anorexic Nervosa were not initially accepted by the mainstream or medical communities as being “real.”
Orthorexia Nervosa may ultimately fall under the OCD category (since weight loss is not the underlying goal for those taking healthy eating to the extreme).
The condition is, however, being discussed with many expressing concerns about either their own food consumption patterns or those of others who slide under the radar as health conscious but quirky.
Note: If you or a loved one are having issues with food consumption, check with your family physician.
Cyndi Allison - Southern born and fed, Cyndi Allison is a college lecturer and newspaper advisor as well as being a freelance writer. She writes on ...
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