Orthorexia
Orthorexia is a disorder characterized by an obsession of healthy eating which could eventually lead to many dietary restrictions and a host of detrimental effects on the well-being and health of the person.
Unlike other eating disorders such as anorexia, binge-eating disorder or bulimia, the obsession in people suffering from orthorexia revolves around the quality of the food instead of the quantity of the food to be consumed. For instance, an individual with orthorexia will have an obsession for eating only pure, clean, natural, vegan, non-processed, non-GMO, organic foods. On the other hand, they will ban some foods that they deem unhealthy from their diet such as processed foods, meats, dairy products, foods high in fats or gluten.
Warning signs and symptoms
The symptoms associated with orthorexia overlap many symptoms associated with other eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa as the food intake lacks variety, leading to some nutritional deficiencies and other physical symptoms linked to the restriction. Also, the rigid food rules can also take a toll on the mental, emotional and social wellbeing of the orthorexia sufferer.
Some of the signs and symptoms include the following:
- Elimination of certain food groups (such as any foods with sugar or fats)
- Permission to eat only certain foods that are deemed pure and healthy
- Intense feeling of guilt and stress if the person breaks the rigid rules and eats their forbidden foods
- Many hours spent per day thinking about their dietary intake
- Obsessive checking of ingredients list and nutrition facts of foods
- Increased isolation and avoidance of outings involving foods due to anxiety of eating food that are not within their control
As a result of the rigid and restrictive behaviour, several detrimental health issues could arise, including dangerous weight loss and other related symptoms such as low heartbeat, dizziness, chronic fatigue, loss of menstruation or irregular periods, hair loss, etc.
