Orthorexia Nervosa: the new eating disorder

I think my boss must have this, He has lost over 100lbs and now tells everyone how much he exercises and what he eats, he even brings stuff to restaurants like dressing for his salad and such, he won't ever eat anything that anyone brings into the office, even if its fruit or somewhat healthy, I know he is afraid of gaining all that weight back, so I understand, but it sure gets irritating that he is always talking about it!

I don't see that as a disorder either................Irritating as it is, I believe he is very proud of his accomplishment and wants everyone to know about it.

I bring my own salad dressing many places that don't make their own dressings. I no longer eat a bottled salad dressing. If a restaurant doesn't make theirs daily, then I bring my own.

I don't eat what others bring into the office either..............especially when they say I made "XXX" low carb or "paleo" just for you.

I don't know what ingredients went into making what they brought in, so I graciously decline and say I am not hungry at the time, but thank you for thinking of me.

I have had too many people tell me that ingredients in foods they made were this or that or they don't understand what gluten free is and then I end up with a major pain flare for days on end.

It is just easier and healthier for me to stay away.

I know he is very proud and he should be, but he is always talking about it, which means, business has revolved around his losing the weight. When customers come in, he will go on about it, when vendors come in, he goes on about it. It is like he talks about nothing else but his diet. I guess I'm not sure if that means he is obsessed or not, but when he talks about it to everyone that comes thru door.... and unfortunately he has scared off some customers because of it.

and you're right, there is nothing wrong with not eating what people bring in, but I mean like a vegie tray or fruit people bring in because they know others are trying to eat healthier, he won't even eat that. I don't personally eat stuff brought in anymore either unless its a banana or an apple of veggies. And the bringing your own salad dressing, I guess I can understand that too, I guess what ever it takes. Like I said I know he is afraid of gaining it all back, I know from experience that happens way too often.

LOL............@the scaring off customers. Its not funny, but I had to LOL.

Now, I will eat a veggie tray or fruit platter if people brought that in...............but people like to bring in muffin and cookie type things and say it is Paleo almond cookies that are gluten free.

That scares me :noway: because I don't know if it is or not................I can't trust them because I don't want the aches and pains.

That is 2 different animals though.

I really appreciate that this is getting more attention and talked about-

I grew up in a very food-obsessed house-
compulsive overeater for one parent
the other parent was a committed 'healthy' eater trying to compensate or 'fix' the other parent.
this produced kids who were
anorexic
bulimic
vegan
fitness-obsessed
nutrition-obsessed
overweight, underweight
totally unhealthy and unbalanced.

anyway, growing up in an environment like that and trying to deal with it in my own life- I am vegan and skirt issues of obsessive behaviors around food (very mild ON)- some years it has been so out of control, some years it is not even an issue. I am trying to find healthy balance. being a vegan doesn't really have anything to do with the ON, mostly because I am vegan for compassion/animal rights issues. I am not by any means a "clean" eater, I love all kinds of (vegan) JUNK.

my point is that I am very sensitive to other people who have ON-type behaviors, or overeaters, or compulsive personalities, bulimic, anorexic, etc. we had a restaurant for years that attracted so many people with these eating issues... the minority of our customers, but still, I could see them like they were wearing a sign above their head.

some of our employees wanted to work for us because they extended their ON to their lifestyle and job. so, I got to see some of these behaviors up close and personal as their employer. it was a real problem with some of them... some examples-

their caloric intake could not get them thru a work shift. they would hit the wall and not be able to do their work. totally unacceptable... they knew it and would adjust their food intake (usually by forcing down little homemade energy balls during a shift) but only by the bare minimum necessary.

their weight and body fat % was very low. some of the women had not had a period in months. it wasn't only women, the most severe "case" of this was actually a young man who was a triathlete.

it wasn't that they were anorexic, it was the total obsession with food, what it did, what it's nutritional breakdown was, what its possible medicinal benefit was, how it would affect them for energy or pleasure.

they also were totally vain, and constantly looking at themselves in the mirror. very odd.

I think it is a very easy trap to fall into- usually you get there from other emotional issues, and it is about control.

I totally think it exists!

I think there's an obvious and clear difference between choosing to live a healthy lifestyle and having this disorder. Those of you who turn down cake at a birthday party aren't remotely captured by this definition. In fact, the symptoms are very similar to anorexia.

- Continually cutting out foods that are not "pure"
- Feeling out of control, disgusting and like a failure if you eat "impure" foods
- A euphoric feeling of control when eating your chosen "pure" foods
- Food purity having no strong link to what is actually nutritionally sound
- Spending the majority of your thought power and waking hours on planning your meals and foods

etc etc... it's obvious this is far closer to OCD-spectrum disorders with ruminating thoughts and obsessive rituals than being targeted at people who are just eating healthy.

So, basically I think that sounds like a disorder to me. If you can't stop obsessing over it and think about anything else, it's a disorder. Granted, obsessive personalities could really get obsessed with anything, so maybe there's an argument to be made that it's not worth making a new disorder for everything an obsessive persion gets obsessed with.

Sometimes people trade one obsession for the other. If someone has something inside that is bugging them, and food was their medication, then you take that away but do not deal with whats eating you inside, you are going to find another obsession and/or addiction so that you can keep yourself self-medicated.

Being consumed and obsessed with calorie counting, health foods, and exercising is definitely a mental disorder. I went through a period where it literally preoccupied every moment of my existence and it was miserable. I'm working on changing that mindset.

Ditto

I study nutrition, and I'm pretty sure there are people in my class who suffers from this.

There is particulary one guy who I worry about. Everytime I hear from him, he's put in an extra rule to his diet. There are probably only a handfull of foods left that he can eat.

First he was vegan, which is all fine and easily manageable. Then he became raw vegan, ok, starting to get more difficult. Then he became 80/10/10. Then he specifies it further that it's not just 80/10/10 by the end of the day, each individual thing can have no more than 10% fat or protein. Then he also restricted his fiber intake exessively (no cabbages or it's relatives, no roots etc.). Then he also believes the body cannot consume more than one thing - so each meal has to be only one igredient - now I think he's even doing only 1 ingredient per day. And it's only soft mushy fruit.

We study nutrition, and he's not afraid to speak up and say that he certainly hope we won't go out and claim that health and drinking cow-tit-extract are possible together etc., and if we want to waste our lives with having a beer on a friday, then we know what's coming to us.

He sounds like a blast to party with. :drinker:

He doesn't want to party with us, he won't be associated with such filthy and deadly habits! He'll sit at home and gnaw on a sun dried date

I think some of you are missing the mental health aspect of it.

It isn't saying eating healthy or exercising is bad. With ON, the obsession with healthy eating and exercising becomes skewed-it takes on an all encompassing focus to the detriment of other activities and functions in life. The focus on rigidity and punishment for any "slip ups", the need to be "good" and "pure," these things are factors to consider. It isn't about "I eat clean and healthy" but more so "I MUST eat clean and healthy. I MUST be good and pure and better. If I slip up, I deserve to be punished and will be more rigid in the future." The narrow focus and linking of diet intake to control is the harm. The obsessive thoughts and inability to take joy in something other than the purity of your food...those are problems.

It technically isn't a dx, so if you think you have it, the clinician would probably have to call it something else in order for insurance to pay for treatment or to validate a need for treatment.

perhaps its somekind of obcessive compulsive thing. idk know if it would really qualify as an eating disorder.

its cetainly not unhealthy for them.

either they can sustain it and therefore they apparently aren't restricting themselves too much, or they can't and it wont last long.

constantly going super healthy then binging for a day or week sounds more like an eating disorder, but i think they have that one covered.

It's not a gimmick or made up condition. When eating anything other than what you consider "safe" or "healthy" foods gives you severe anxiety and you actually fear what those foods will do to you, or eating them sends you straight into a panic filled with immense guilt and a need to rid them of your body, then yes you are probably suffering from some form of it, or a mixture of this and other eating issues.

From my personal standpoint, I have HAD to watch what I eat due to Celiac Disease for over 10 years, and now I'm being careful and watching what I eat because I'm trying to be more fit and lose weight. With the restrictions from Celiac, I really DON'T want to become any more obsessed than I have to be to manage the Celiac. I have always stated that Celiac (for me!!) is a condition that can be controlled, and I refuse to be defined by that alone. There is so much more to me than not being able to go out for pizza or burgers.

Just my opinion, of course.

Sharon

I think there's an obvious and clear difference between choosing to live a healthy lifestyle and having this disorder. Those of you who turn down cake at a birthday party aren't remotely captured by this definition. In fact, the symptoms are very similar to anorexia.

- Continually cutting out foods that are not "pure"
- Feeling out of control, disgusting and like a failure if you eat "impure" foods
- A euphoric feeling of control when eating your chosen "pure" foods
- Food purity having no strong link to what is actually nutritionally sound
- Spending the majority of your thought power and waking hours on planning your meals and foods

etc etc... it's obvious this is far closer to OCD-spectrum disorders with ruminating thoughts and obsessive rituals than being targeted at people who are just eating healthy.

So, basically I think that sounds like a disorder to me. If you can't stop obsessing over it and think about anything else, it's a disorder. Granted, obsessive personalities could really get obsessed with anything, so maybe there's an argument to be made that it's not worth making a new disorder for everything an obsessive persion gets obsessed with.

What most people don't get is that it can and does take over your life. For those who say "I'm happy to have this." does your throat constrict if you think you might go over calories? Is it bad enough to give you a panic attack? Would you punish yourself for days for this if you did go out? For most people here, most likely not. Therein lies why many people don't understand eating disorders. For what it's worth, I used to be mindful and I did lose weight (without counting calories), but there were certain factors that made the wheels fall off.

I know I sure as heck didn't understand anything until I admitted to myself that I have this, but luckily I caught it early. And whether you want to call it orthorexia nervosa, anorexia athletica, or something else it really doesn't matter.

Life's about balance; if your life is dominated by food and exercise to the detriment of other important areas I personally feel that's 'disordered' if it meets criteria for mental health diagnosis or not

I just wanted to get your opinion on this. Since all this 'fitspo' stuff started on instagram I couldn't help but think it was actually unhealthy. Some of the pictures/comments are promoting eating NOTHING but whole/healthy foods and exercising excessively.

I started to follow fitness accounts on instagram and was shocked how many people''s lives were taken over by eating healthy and exercising. Don't get me wrong, I'm a self confessed gym bunny and consider it my hobby, but I have no problem eating a chocolate bar every day with my lunch or going out for food/getting takeaway at the weekend.

I was thinking to myself this is an eating disorder... yeah it isn't anorexia or bulimia but it's an obsession that rules peoples lives, i was reading one blog where the writer was SO fitness obsessed she would turn down drinks with her friends/meals, even though she had her 'perfect body'.

I found this post on the blog Chocolate Covered Katie:

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2010/03/01/orthorexia-nervosa-the-new-eating-disorder/

I completely agree that this is a from of eating disorder. I don't want you to think that I'm saying eating healthy and being dedicated is a bad thing, as I am totally into that way of life myself; but when it BECOMES your life even after you've reached your goal weight and you can't enjoy the little things in life then what's the point?

Would love to know your opinions

Its stupid and just another money maker for them to say people that are very conscience about what they put in their mouth and body is an eating disorder.

Most Dr's want their patients to be mindful of what goes in their mouth and is digested through their bodies.

My husband and I eat out within the guidelines of our eating plan, we cook most of our meals, buy the highest quality foods that we can afford and search out healthy ways of living.

If that is a disorder, I am happy to have it.

Agreed!! We must all have some kind of issue because apparently 'everything' is somehow some kind of disorder!!

Well, this looks like a fun thread . . . No really, I'm in.