By Carol Church, Writer, Family Album
Reviewed by Agata Kowalewska, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida
Are you on Pinterest? This fun social media site lets users create virtual “bulletin boards” full of recipes, home ideas, kid activities, and much more. I often browse the site looking for family-friendly, healthy recipes. But there’s one description that seems to come up a lot on Pinterest recipes that’s always bothered me a little. It’s the term “clean,” as in “clean eating” or “clean snacks.” When that type of adjective is applied to food, it makes me wonder—if this recipe is “clean,” does that mean the writer thinks others are “dirty”?
Orthorexia: “Clean” Gone Extreme
I thought about that “clean eating” phrasing as I read recently about a newly described problem called orthorexia. Though orthorexia is not yet defined as its own category of eating disorder, experts consider it a real issue, and it is a problem of disordered eating. Unlike those with other types of eating disorders, people with orthorexia do not generally fear becoming overweight. Instead, they are extremely concerned about eating only “healthy” and “pure” food, to the extent that they restrict their diets greatly and feel constantly concerned about exactly what they’re eating and how it was prepared.
Restrictions and Compulsions
People with orthorexia may exclude entire food groups (for example, grains and dairy) and types of food (such as GMOs or nonorganic food), refusing to ever consume these foods under any circumstances. The number of restrictions often grows over time. Orthorexics often spend many hours per day shopping for and preparing their special food and planning what to eat next. There is an anxious and obsessive-compulsive element to the problem; for sufferers, keeping to their preferred diet allows them to feel calm and in control. If those with orthorexia do eat foods they consider off-limits, they may feel extremely guilty.
Even children are not immune to this disorder, according to some dietitians. Concerningly, they may pick up “fear of food” and anxieties about eating the wrong type of food from parents with orthorexic tendencies.
Physical, Practical, and Emotional Consequences
The irony of orthorexia is that in pursuit of health, sufferers place restrictions on themselves that may eventually impair their health. In severe cases, malnourishment can occur. However, even if orthorexia is not causing health problems, it can create other serious issues. While healthy eating (in balance!) is certainly a worthwhile goal, orthorexics may get so focused on their diet and what they can and can’t eat that they isolate themselves from friends, family, and social gatherings. They also can lose the ability to understand their own hunger signals and to enjoy food.
What to Look For
Are you concerned about orthorexia in yourself or someone you care about? Experts suggest asking these questions:
- Are preparing food, researching food, and/or buying food taking up excessive amounts of your time (for instance, 3 hours a day)?
- Do you feel very anxious or guilty if you eat “unhealthy” foods?
- Or, do you feel completely unable to eat foods you consider “unhealthy,” even those you used to enjoy or those offered in social contexts?
- Are highly restrictive eating habits or worries about eating interfering with work, school, or your social life?
Like other eating disorders, orthorexia can be treated with the help of a trained practitioner. People struggling with this problem should seek help from a therapist and/or a registered dietitian. It’s great to want to eat a healthy diet, but it’s not great to let anxiety or rigidity about food take over your life.
(Photo credit: Leftover lettuce by Kurt Bauschardt. CC BY 2.0. Cropped.)
Further Reading:
Orthorexia: Good Food Gone Bad
References:
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (2103). Orthorexia: An obsession with eating pure. Retrieved from http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6442471029
Getz, L. (2009). Orthorexia: When eating healthy becomes an unhealthy obsession. Retrieved from http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/060109p40.shtml
Moroze RM, Dunn TM, Craig Holland J, Yager J, Weintraub P. (2014). Microthinking About Micronutrients: A Case of Transition From Obsessions About Healthy Eating to Near-Fatal “Orthorexia Nervosa” and Proposed Diagnostic Criteria. Psychosomatics. 2014 Mar 19. doi: 10.1016/j.psym.2014.03.003
National Association of Anorexia and Other Related Disorders. (2014). Orthorexia: Good food gone bad. Retrieved from http://www.anad.org/blog/orthorexia-good-food-gone-bad/
National Eating Disorders Association. (2014). Orthorexia nervosa. Retrieved from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/orthorexia-nervosa
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