Orthorexia: Obsessed with Healthy Food
Options
TabiHerbalifeCoach
Posts: 691 Member
I didn't write this (obviously) It came to me in a email from calorie count, thought would be useful/helpful to some.
Orthorexia: Obsessed with Healthy Food
By Mary_RD on Sep 28, 2010 10:00 AM in Tips & Updates
Katherine Hepburn said, “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” Orthorexia doesn’t sound like fun. It is about eating cleaner than it needs to be.
Rigidly healthy
"Orthorexia nervosa" is the informal name of an eating disorder – more precisely, an aberrant eating pattern – defined by an extreme obsession with healthy eating food. According to an article in The Guardian, the term was coined by Steven Bratman, MD in 1997. He combined the Greek “ortho” - straight and correct - with the medical prefix “orexia’ - appetite - to describe a “pathological fixation on proper eating”.
People with orthorexia may feel virtuous about their “good” food choices, but vile and self-loathing if they should stray. They may spend hours and hours planning what to eat, and opt for nothing if the right food is not available. The Guardian says the pattern is typically seen in “well-educated, middle class, adults over 30”…who have rigid rules about which foods are pure and good. The pattern may start with food allergies and diets where foods are systematically eliminated until only a small number remain. It is also seen in bodybuilders during the competition season followed by an all out binge later on.
Healthy eating: another ED?
When does a tight grip on eating turn into a problem? Many doctors don't accept orthorexia nervosa as a legitimate diagnosis. They say aggressive cases may be obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), an anxiety disorder characterized by fear, intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors, with food as the obsession. And at times, "orthorexic" individuals may meet the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa when amenorrhea, emaciation and a pathological fear of becoming fat coexist.
In his book, Health Food Junkies: Orthorexia Nervosa: Overcoming the Obsession with Healthful Eating, Dr. Bratman uses this screening tool for orthorexia that has not been validated but may be useful for identifying issues in need of deeper review. If you answer "yes" to two or three of these questions, then you may need to loosen your grip on food.
Are you spending more than three hours a day thinking about healthy food?
Do you always skip foods you once enjoyed in order to only eat the "right" foods?
Does your diet make it difficult for you to eat anywhere but at home, distancing you from friends and family?
Do you look down on others who don't eat your way?
Does your self-esteem get a boost from eating healthy?
When you eat the way you're supposed to, do you feel in total control?
Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet?
Is the virtue you feel about what you eat more important than the pleasure you receive from eating it?
Has the quality of your life decreased as the quality of your diet increased?
The Bottom Line: One of the hardest parts about dieting is learning where to draw the line between the rules and the fun. At one end is a careless diet of highly processed, non-nutritive foods and at the other end is clean eating to the point of social isolation and malnutrition. While it is important to plan and practice a new eating style when starting to make basic diet changes, one should not be fixated on healthy eating or on looking a certain way.
Your thoughts....
Orthorexia: Obsessed with Healthy Food
By Mary_RD on Sep 28, 2010 10:00 AM in Tips & Updates
Katherine Hepburn said, “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” Orthorexia doesn’t sound like fun. It is about eating cleaner than it needs to be.
Rigidly healthy
"Orthorexia nervosa" is the informal name of an eating disorder – more precisely, an aberrant eating pattern – defined by an extreme obsession with healthy eating food. According to an article in The Guardian, the term was coined by Steven Bratman, MD in 1997. He combined the Greek “ortho” - straight and correct - with the medical prefix “orexia’ - appetite - to describe a “pathological fixation on proper eating”.
People with orthorexia may feel virtuous about their “good” food choices, but vile and self-loathing if they should stray. They may spend hours and hours planning what to eat, and opt for nothing if the right food is not available. The Guardian says the pattern is typically seen in “well-educated, middle class, adults over 30”…who have rigid rules about which foods are pure and good. The pattern may start with food allergies and diets where foods are systematically eliminated until only a small number remain. It is also seen in bodybuilders during the competition season followed by an all out binge later on.
Healthy eating: another ED?
When does a tight grip on eating turn into a problem? Many doctors don't accept orthorexia nervosa as a legitimate diagnosis. They say aggressive cases may be obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), an anxiety disorder characterized by fear, intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors, with food as the obsession. And at times, "orthorexic" individuals may meet the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa when amenorrhea, emaciation and a pathological fear of becoming fat coexist.
In his book, Health Food Junkies: Orthorexia Nervosa: Overcoming the Obsession with Healthful Eating, Dr. Bratman uses this screening tool for orthorexia that has not been validated but may be useful for identifying issues in need of deeper review. If you answer "yes" to two or three of these questions, then you may need to loosen your grip on food.
Are you spending more than three hours a day thinking about healthy food?
Do you always skip foods you once enjoyed in order to only eat the "right" foods?
Does your diet make it difficult for you to eat anywhere but at home, distancing you from friends and family?
Do you look down on others who don't eat your way?
Does your self-esteem get a boost from eating healthy?
When you eat the way you're supposed to, do you feel in total control?
Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet?
Is the virtue you feel about what you eat more important than the pleasure you receive from eating it?
Has the quality of your life decreased as the quality of your diet increased?
The Bottom Line: One of the hardest parts about dieting is learning where to draw the line between the rules and the fun. At one end is a careless diet of highly processed, non-nutritive foods and at the other end is clean eating to the point of social isolation and malnutrition. While it is important to plan and practice a new eating style when starting to make basic diet changes, one should not be fixated on healthy eating or on looking a certain way.
Your thoughts....
0
Replies
-
Wow, thanks for posting this! I remember reading about this a few months ago on another site. I especially enjoyed the questions at the end. It's good to keep things in perspective.0
-
You just described the girl sitting in the office next to mine!0
-
For a little more info the latest issue of MORE magazine also covered this topic as part of an article on the rise of eating disorders in older (post 40) women. Very good article.0
-
I can see where it would be easy to fall into this problem without realizing its happening. I myself have three of the symptoms, but I dont think it constitutes having this illness. Feeling guilty about eating something bad is normal for someone trying to lose serious weight, like myself. Just like trying to quit smoking and feeling guilty for having a cigarette. I also do feel virtuous when I eat better than others. It makes me feel good that I have made a good choice and didnt 'cross over to the darkside' LOL. I think when something is damaging to our health, whether its eating too much bad, or too much good to the point of malnutrition, then we need to self examin our motives and feelings and seek help. I am definitely not one to obsess over my food intake but I am definitely proud that I care and I wouldnt change that for the world! I would hope that anyone reading this post, if they suffer from these symptoms to a deep degree, would seek help so that they can be truly healthy! Great post btw, I had no idea this disorder existed!0
-
You just described me.0
-
"Most everything in moderation" is my motto.... you gotta have fun in life too! What's the point of being extremely healthy, but at the same time being unable to enjoy meals with your family and friends, not being able to go out on dates to fun eating joints, and not being able to really enjoy the taste of a lot of your food?? I think that would be a pointless life. MODERATION is so key!0
-
This "disorder" sounds silly to me. Food is fuel, not playtime. I can't imagine why clean obsessively clean eating is a problem. Of course I think somebody has a problem if their diet is so restrictive as to cause them health problems or deny their body essential nutrients. And I think anyone who looks down on others for not eating just like them is probably a jerk.
But, there really is not a reason why any human being "needs to" or "should" enjoy an occassional piece of cheesecake, brownie, or white bread with butter. The reason we have "cheat days" and "occasional treats" is because our culture views food as FUN and not as FUEL. I think this outlook is driven by capitalism and the desire to sell us cheap fattening food we don't need for profit.0 -
Oh geeze....on the one hand I want to say that there seems to be a "diagnosis" for just about everything these days, on the other hand I know my constant tracking is driving my husband crazy. I do tend not to eat out much because it is so difficult to track, but then most people eat out too much to begin with. And don't we all feel guilty when we stray?0
-
Y'all are right there is a disorder for everything. I just wanted to share, because there are two extreames here, with eating to much, and too unhealthy, to not enough or too "clean" so that you are shut off from most everything. If this change this journey is going to be real we need to look at ourselves, and really evaulate along the way and make sure we are on a healthy path. I just wanted to share to hopefully insight some internal reflection.0
-
This IS me! I have had an issue with food in the past. Overeating to bulemia to anorexia when I had my tonsils removed. Lately I have learned that I have grown up with a gluten intolerance, so learning to deal with that I would not eat when there wasn't anything available for me TO eat. I was often depressed, extremely anxious and self-loathing when I even thought about what groceries I was going to buy for me and my BF to eat that week. When I don't stress about it, I eat stuff I'm not supposed to, and usually "relapse" with a gluten flare-up. Last week I ate an entire medium sized bag of Almond M&Ms by myself because I felt like it. I have many problems and I'm glad I found out I'm not the only person suffering...too bad I can't afford any type of therapy, etc. But at least I can recognize the problem when it's happening and try to take deep breaths and realize I'm not going to die if I eat the "wrong" thing every once in a while.0
-
I think this is why I allow myself cheat meals. I don't ever want to get too obsessive over my food to where it affects my psyche and can actually hit my health. I figure that if I am going to be eating 5 times a day which is 35 meals in a week, then 1 or 2 meals out of 35 where I can indulge in other, not-so-good-for-you, foods will be OK. It keeps me sane, but since I am still progressing, I don't see where it is hurting me either.
I have this one friend who totally freaked out when she had movie popcorn (no butter, mind you!) on her last trip to the theater. I thought she was going crazy because all she had was POPCORN. How can you totally blow P90X workouts with one small bag of unbuttered popcorn???
Maybe someone should tell her that even the guy who created P90X, Tony Horton, said that he enjoys pizza and beer every now and then, lol!!!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.4K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions