The orthorexia is the obsession with healthy eating. It is a lifestyle that begins with good intentions by eating healthy, but can lead to the creation of a deranged monster.
The term orthorexia was coined by Dr. Steve Bratman when he published an article for the Yoga Journal magazine in 1997. In it he explained his frustration at not finding a universal theory for the perfect diet and his disappointment at having met “truly unbalanced by the healthy nutrition".
Bratman understood that such was the obsession of these individuals, that the result was a pathological disorder by eating the right foods. The name derives from 'anorexia nervosa', which means no appetite, to be modified by the Greek prefix 'orthos', which means correct. That is, the correct appetite.
Although orthorexia nervosa is not listed as a disorder in the DSM-V of the American Psychological Association (APA) or any other authorized source, it could be defined as obsessive-compulsive behavior due to consumption, of what the individual believes to be healthy food.
Unlike bulimia or anorexia, in which the aim is to regulate the amount of food eaten, orthorexia focuses on quality and benefit.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 28% of the western population could suffer from this disorder, with women, adolescents and athletes being the most likely to suffer from it.
Symptoms of orthorexia
Part of the controversy about this phenomenon stems from a blurred line between healthy eating and orthorexia nervosa. This limits a lot to assess which symptoms are the most successful to pigeonhole them in this disease.
According to experts in the field, we can recognize people who begin to suffer the effects of this disorder because they usually begin to limit from their diet those foods processed with preservatives, artificial colors, antibiotics or pesticides and transgenic foods.
Subsequently, the restriction passes to products such as eggs, dairy, sugars or red meat. This is already beginning to affect the individual, since his body is deprived of many of the nutrients and minerals (calcium, iron) necessary for its proper functioning.
Malnutrition is not the only symptom. The attitude of the person begins to vary and develops a pedantic and arrogant personality, which leads to social isolation, which does not seem to matter to him.
In extreme situations, the affected individual begins to neglect his social and work activities due to the importance of food in his life. These symptoms can be:
- Dedicate yourself to organizing your diet, planning more than three hours.
- Traveling long distances from home to find certain products.
- Thoroughly analyze the components of food.
- Giving up dates or social gatherings for not agreeing to eat out.
- Spend a lot of time teaching people about eating habits.
- Anxiety or stress problems due to being unable to meet your nutritional expectations.
Finally, all this leads to physiological problems that affect the development of malnutrition, anorexia, osteoporosis, thyroid, hypochondria, cardiovascular problems, mental illnesses or daily problems such as loss of friends, bad relationship with relatives, dismissal at work or exclusion from certain social areas.
Causes
Obesity, one of the most worrying global pandemics of this century, due to all the diseases that derive from it, has promoted nutrition to take great importance in medicine as a natural remedy to avoid these ills.
Nutrition is increasingly relevant in the media and on the Internet, being quite easy to get information on diets, cooking recipes, benefits or harms of food, etc.
Although it can be fairly reliable information because it is signed by dietitians or nutritionists, this constant bombardment becomes a double-edged sword. The person may become obsessed with complying with each and every one of these tips and carrying them out to the end, despite the fact that it is damaging their physical or mental health.
In turn, it has been observed that some people who have suffered anorexia nervosa, when recovering, begin to gradually include natural or organic foods, but soon it leads to orthorexia.
Treatment
Within the scientific community there is some controversy about whether the concept endorsed by Bratman can be considered a pathology. As we have mentioned before, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) does not include it as a disorder and therefore there are no official therapies to treat the case.
If we accept orthorexia as a disorder, perhaps an interdisciplinary help formed by nutritionists and dietitians with psychologists is required to combat it.
In an article published on the English portal dailymail, Dr. Markey assured that “often, negative eating patterns, such as orthorexia, could be linked to depression, addictions and even anxiety disorders, such as the obsessive compulsive". Markey himself proposed cognitive-behavioral therapy or through pharmacological medication as a solution.
In any case, a prevention method is to influence the nutritional education of children from a young age, sending them messages of tolerance towards oneself and towards others and making them understand that beauty canons should not influence a stereotyped pattern of behavior
Bibliography
- Bratman S (2001) Health Food Junkies: Orthorexia Nervosa: Overcoming the Obsession with Healthful Eating
- Dunn, TM & Bratman, S. (2016). On orthorexia nervosa: A review of the literature and proposed diagnostic criteria. Eating Behaviors, 21, 11 -17
- Rochman, B. (2010). Orthorexia: Can Healthy Eating Be a Disorder ?. com, Feb 12. Retrieved 2010-02-12.