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Orthorexia Nervosa
Orthorexia Nervosa
Although it is not an official medical diagnosis, it is still used as a diagnosis by some
practitioners who have documented the damaging results of the condition as they have seen in
their practices.
As of January 2007, two peerreviewed studies have been published on the condition. In
the studies, Donini et al. defines orthorexia nervosa as a "maniacal obsession for
healthy foods" and proposes several diagnostic criteria
.
Sufferers of orthorexia often display symptoms consistent with obsessivecompulsive
disorder and have an exaggerated concern with healthy eating patterns.
Like anorexia,
however, these obsessive compulsive symptoms may be an effect of starvation rather than a
cause of the disorder.
A diagnostic questionnaire has been developed for orthorexia sufferers, similar to
questionnaires for other eating disorders.Bratman proposes an initial selftest composed of two
direct questions:
"Do you care more about the virtue of what you eat than the pleasure you
receive from eating it?... Does your diet socially isolate you?"
Other questions concerning those who may be suffering from orthorexia provided by
Davis on the WebMD (2000) website are:
Do they spend more than 3 hours a day thinking about healthy foods?
When they eat the way they're supposed to, do they feel in total control?
Are they planning tomorrow's menu today? Has the quality of their life decreased as the
quality of their diet increased?
Have they become stricter with themselves?
Does their selfesteem get a boost from eating healthy?
Do they look down on others who don't eat this way?
Do they skip foods they once enjoyed in order to eat the "right" foods?
Does their diet make it difficult for them to eat anywhere but at home, distancing them
from family and friends?
Do they feel guilt or selfloathing when you stray from their diet?
If yes was answered to two or more questions, the person may have a mild case of orthorexia.
Symptoms and Theory
Symptoms of orthorexia nervosa may include obsession with healthy eating,
and emaciation among other things. Orthorexic subjects typically have specific
feelings towards different types of food. They tend not to eat out as much because they
do not trust the preparation of foods other than what they have prepared.
The obsession for healthy foods could come from a number of sources such
as family habits, society trends, economic problems, recent illness, or even just
hearing something negative about a food type or group, which then leads them to
ultimately eliminate the food or foods from their diet.
According to the abstract of a 2004 study quoted on PubMed, a service of the National
Institutes of Health, "The analysis of the physiological characteristics, the socialcultural and
the psychological behavior that characterizes subjects suffering from ON shows a higher
prevalence in men and in those with a lower level of education."