What is Orthorexia?
Orthorexia nervosa was first described in 1997 by Dr Steven Bratman. It is not yet officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association and so doesn't enjoy the status of being a formal diagnosis. Because of this it is often diagnosed as a form of anorexia, but it does have some unique attributes. The main way in which orthorexia differs from anorexia is in the reasons that the person starves themself for.
Motivation of orthorexia eating disorders
An orthorexic is not motivated by a desire to be thin: Their obsession is with eating pure and healthy food. Although this might sound harmless, or even desirable, the orthorexic will go to such extremes to avoid eating food that they feel might be unhealthy or "contaminated" that they find themselves unable to eat anything at all. The drive to eat "healthily" can push the orthorexic to social isolation, starvation, and an obsession with food.
There have been a number of fad diets through the past few decades. These fashionable diets prescribe very strict ideas of what's healthy or not. Many of these diets have made very rigid dietary practices part of the norm. In addition there has been an increasing concern with obesity that is creating an increasing focus on healthy eating.
Orthorexia eating disorder
Orthorexics vest their self-esteem into their eating practices and become obsessed with adhering to their stringent diet. Their need to control their eating overwhelms them and they lose any ability to choose what to eat. They become obsessed with food and can't think of anything else. People with this eating disorder will plan their entire schedule around when/where/how and what they will eat. The orthorexic will engage in a daily battle to keep themselves in line with their stringent rules that define what they allow themselves to eat. If they fail to adhere to this routine they will engage in harsh self criticism that drives them to again engage in their strict eating patterns.
People with orthorexia eating disorder focus on the quality of their food rather than the quantity as is the case with anorexia nervosa or bulimoa nervosa. For some people orthorexia develops as a result of having to eat a special diet in order to address health problems such as allergies. Their eating disorder develops as they become fixated on their dietary restrictions. Orthorexics will often refuse to eat food that they themselves have not prepared and insist on taking their own food wherever they go.
Orthorexia is an eating disorder that can make it difficult for the patient to socialize. The obsession with food subsumes every aspect of their life and they start to withdraw from social situations. The orthorexic may begin to suffer from malnutrition because they become so stringent in what they allow themselves to eat. They would rather starve to death than "contaminate" themselves with "impure" food.
Scientists have not yet established the root cause of orthorexia eating disorders. There is an ongoing debate between schools of thought that favour genetic reasons and those that attempt to explain it through situational factors such as the family environment. It is also thought that eating disorders arise out of a need to exercise control. This is particularly possible for young people who feel out of control of their lives. Eating disorders are very much more prevalent in females than in males.
