Orthorexia nervosa

runfatmanrun

I just read this in my Men's Journal.

The definition is "a condition characterized by an unhealthy obsession with eating healthfully". It goes on to say that "The affliction usually begins with an effort to eat better but snowballs into an obsessive disorder.....".

When I read this it made me think of some of the thing I have read on this site. People seem to let themselves become obsessed with doing things so perfectly and minimizing the taboo cheat days and forget to remember it's ok to not be perfect. I know it's to each his/her own, but it should be about getting healthy and losing weight not losing your mind. Keep it simple.

Any opinions?

dakotababy

I have done plenty of research on this Orthorexia Nervosa -
Often those who eat "only organic" or "only vegan" can suffer from this. Essentially - cutting your food choices to next to nothing so you have dont get proper nutrition or a variety of different foods.

I believe my older brother has this actually. He went on the "organic" craze and lost a ton of weight - so much so that the family was extremely concerned and it seemed a lot like anorexia. He looked pail, sick, and his eyes were even dark and sunken in. He became "obsessed" with eating only organic and would not touch anything else.

It is sad to see it happen, but it is a lot like anorexia - except people with orthorexia believe they are making "smart, healthy" choices because of what others tell them (ex - "only eat organic/vegan")

kmm7309

I did a research paper on this last semester. People who suffer have extremely limited diets, and can compensate poor food options by over-exercising or refusing to eat. They believe that one particular food group or food is "the only way", and will cut out whole other parts of food groups, regardless of what it offers.

grrrlface

It's not as easy as saying "it's about getting healthy and losing weight, not losing your mind".
I've suffered from mental illness for a long time depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Orthorexia is an eating disorder and comes easily to people already susceptible to mental illness, like any eating disorder does.

I think a small percentage of people on here do suffer with orthorexia but I don't think likening people who want to change their lifestyle to people who suffer with eating disorders is very encouraging. There is a huge difference in the mentality of both.

Like I said, it will be a tiny percentage of people who will suffer from this.

WhitneyAnnabelle

A lot of people on MFP are candidates for Orthorexia diagnosis. No judgment on anyone--I'm one of them, too. The difference, though, is when it starts to seriously affect your health...as in, you won't eat anything at all because you don't deem anything "acceptable". It's as serious as any eating disorder.

mymission92

I had this. Last year ended up just 6 and a half stone (my height is 5'8) I was in hospital and really ill, but I couldn't understand as I thought I was the healthy one. It started off just being 'healthy' but before I knew it took over.
I'm fully recovered now, but it is so scary as you don't even realise its happening until it's too late!

MaraDiaz

As long as my obsession centers around finding food combinations that will fuel a more intense and regular workout routine, cut down on my health problems like seasonal allergies, and kill my cravings for junkfood, I am happily obsessed. Before when I lost weight all I cared about was the number on the scale. It's sometimes still hard not to go back to that mode, but trying to find a sustainable way of eating for life really helps.

runfatmanrun

I am definitely not trying to make light of any disorder, but it does seem that some here walk the line. They try so hard, maybe a little too hard.

half_moon

My boss has this. It is actually very disturbing in real life. She literally ate GINGER as her lunch the other day. Ah.

masterschild54

I feel people so desperately want to worship they (we all will) begin to focus on something which gives us the satisfaction that worshipping and and soul searching gives. We are triune beings: physical/mental/spiritual! I know I've had an addictive relationship with food my whole life. The 12 steps has brought me to a place where I realize no ONE tool is any more important than any other. I need a healthy eating/fitness plan for my physical self...I need mental discipline and I need a relationship with my Higher Power to accept all as part of my journey. Only when I keep aware of the crucial balance of the three aspects of my wellness journey is it possible for me to maintain Health as a person.

MB_Positif

I just make it a point so mess up just a little each and every day, then I don't have a need for a full on cheat day...

ahigg396

there's also a mtv true life epsisode about this! so interesting.

tlblood

It's not as easy as saying "it's about getting healthy and losing weight, not losing your mind".
I've suffered from mental illness for a long time depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Orthorexia is an eating disorder and comes easily to people already susceptible to mental illness, like any eating disorder does.

I think a small percentage of people on here do suffer with orthorexia but I don't think likening people who want to change their lifestyle to people who suffer with eating disorders is very encouraging. There is a huge difference in the mentality of both.

Like I said, it will be a tiny percentage of people who will suffer from this.

I didn't interpret what he said as likening all people who want to be healthier to people who suffer from this eating disorder. I understood it be a "warning" of sorts. I had not heard of this disorder before, so I think it's very realistic to believe that some people who beging turing toward healthier choices could become so obsessed with it as to have this disorder, but if people don't know it exists, they would never know they or someone they know might suffer from it and have taken their new healthier habits to an unhealthy level.

I think he's just saying (well, he did say) it's ok to slip up, it's ok to not be perfect, and it's ok to let it roll off your back and move on if you indulge once in a while.

futuremalestripper

This isn't even a real recognized condition.
It's just crap you hear on tv and then magazines play it up.
Sorry, but I've read some terrible garbage in Men's Health and the like.

RobynMWilson

I totally agree...this site has made me a little obsessive about what I eat and I've been doing this for years. I have a couple of cheat meals per week, guilt free, although my body hates me afterwards lol. People take it too far and we are always bombarded by images and media on this study and that study...I'm surprised ppl aren't even more obsessed than they already are!

runfatmanrun

It's not as easy as saying "it's about getting healthy and losing weight, not losing your mind".
I've suffered from mental illness for a long time depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Orthorexia is an eating disorder and comes easily to people already susceptible to mental illness, like any eating disorder does.

I think a small percentage of people on here do suffer with orthorexia but I don't think likening people who want to change their lifestyle to people who suffer with eating disorders is very encouraging. There is a huge difference in the mentality of both.

Like I said, it will be a tiny percentage of people who will suffer from this.

I think people with disorders want to change too though. I just think that people can go too far with their change to the point of being unrealistic and so overly focused that it becomes like a disorder. I think the percentage of people with an actual disorder is small, but many people on here, especially when you read the posts, have disorder like symptoms. Making changes is good unless you go too far.

subcult

http://www.beyondveg.com/ is a website I found a month ago that addresses this type of thing. I'm not saying it's gosple butit helped me keep prespective.

denvervegan

I have done plenty of research on this Orthorexia Nervosa -
Often those who eat "only organic" or "only vegan" can suffer from this. Essentially - cutting your food choices to next to nothing so you have dont get proper nutrition or a variety of different foods.

I believe my older brother has this actually. He went on the "organic" craze and lost a ton of weight - so much so that the family was extremely concerned and it seemed a lot like anorexia. He looked pail, sick, and his eyes were even dark and sunken in. He became "obsessed" with eating only organic and would not touch anything else.

It is sad to see it happen, but it is a lot like anorexia - except people with orthorexia believe they are making "smart, healthy" choices because of what others tell them (ex - "only eat organic/vegan")

I often see orthorexia as a "diagnosis" from laypeople who are confused and annoyed by other people caring about what they put in their bodies. As a vegan who eats probably 95% organic food, I come across this now and then in attempts to discredit lifestyles such as mine. In reality, I eat a varied and nutritious diet, have plenty of energy, and almost never get sick, but people uneducated on the subject seem to think that cutting out animal products is an earth-shattering decision. It's not. Are all vegans skinny? Not by any means, although we are much less likely to be obese.

Your brother losing weight was likely not related to his decision to eat strictly organic foods. It's not difficult to obtain organic versions of almost anything. How food is grown does not affect weight gain or loss. If he lost a large amount of weight, I would imagine that he was eating much less food, not just a different type of food. Most importantly, I tend to think that serious diagnoses should be left to trained physicians, dietitians, or psychologists, rather than untrained internet researchers.

adbohls

My hubby and grandson have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I could see someone with this disorder also having Orthonexia Nervosa. It's an error in the way their minds process things. For these individuals, they do need to be very careful that when striving to become healthy, that they aren't transferring their obsessions from somewhere else in their lives.

Having said that, I do believe that there are many mentally stable people who do over react when it comes to their food. They hear so much sensationalism, that they go into a frantic and begin believe only the bad stuff without really taking the time to research both sides of the issue.

Case in point is Aspartame. So many people hear that it converts to formaldahyde in your body that they freak out. However, they don't take the time to find out that this also happens when eating any natural food that contains high levels of methanol, like tomatoes. They also don't take the time to find out that the person who started all the sensationalism is not a medical doctor, but a woman who has an Honorary Doctorate's Degree in Humanities. They only hear the title of Doctor and assume she knows what she is talking about.

I'm also not a big fan of Dr. Oz's show. While he is a medial doctor and is very careful about trying to convey that what he broadcasts is only part of the story, his fans hang on every word said in the show and over react. I appreciate what his is trying to do by helping people get healthy by staying informed, but soemtimes it's too much.

MaraDiaz

We fat people just can't win. Everyone disapproves when we're fat. We get discriminated against and scolded by our doctors for health reasons.

Then we read studies that say staying thin is so difficult once you've been overweight that you pretty much have to spend the rest of your life in an obsessive, calorie watching, weight watching, exercising state.

Then when we start changing to conform to that state in order to get thin and stay thin, someone comes along and says we're too obsessive about it!

dr_tina

it isn't a diagnosis in the DSM (what psychologists use to diagnose), but that does not matter because it is a real diagnosable concern, as it would fall under the broader Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), as it would meet criteria for both obsessions and compulsions. It is less important what those specific obsessions or compulsions are as long as they serve the purpose of reducing anxiety. I am a licensed clinical psychologists. It is less important to debate whether it is diagnosable, and the bigger message that anything to an extreme, even if it starts as an attempt to be healthy, is problematic.

Sabs_21

I do agree that it can be a very fine line from trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle and becoming obsessed with it to where it negatively affects other parts of your life. I myself recently took about a 1 month break from MFP recently as I found myself becoming too focused on every calorie and comparing myself with my friends who also use this site. I was becoming increasingly stressed out and I felt that it might be hindering my weight loss. During my break I still focused on eating healthy and exercising. It was a nice detox and put things back into perspective for me that this journey is about me and no one else.

michellekicks

Disordered eating patterns come in all shapes and sizes.

Back in 2002/03 I lost about 60 lbs using weight watchers. I met others who were doing the same thing. Some of us were successful... I got to my goal weight along with another gal who eventually went into fitness modelling. She also became severely bulimic. I became obsessed with over-exercising and would think to myself, "Okay so I just ate a muffin and a latte, that's about 600 calories, as long as I burn an extra 600 calories today, that didn't count."

I eventually had to stop tracking to lose the obsession of the numbers.

I'm trying very hard not to fall into that again.

So it's not just anorexia and bulimia... there are so many weird food/exercise compulsions. And many of us on here are probably prone due to the nature of the site. We're drawn to tracking everything and being diligent with diet and exercise... it is a slippery slope in my opinion.

mcarter99

I see people here walking the line (or possibly full on over it, hard to say from posts alone and I don't peruse diaries at all).

Jack Lalanne was definitely orthorexic, if you ask me.