A new form of disordered eating, orthorexia, is on the rise, say experts

Sly Saint · Aug 18, 2024

When it comes to health, you can have too much of a good thing.

Orthorexia is an obsession with eating healthy food. For people who develop the eating disorder, the intention to eat nutritious food turns into a fixation. Instead of generally striving to eat more healthy foods, people with orthorexia cut out entire food groups they feel aren't healthy, which can result in nutritional deficiencies, mental health challenges, and social isolation.

The signs of orthorexia can also be very difficult to identify, says Sadi Fox, PhD, a licensed psychotherapist who has been working with people with eating disorders for 10 years. Since eating healthy is generally perceived as a good thing, people with orthorexia might be praised for their disorder, not know they have a problem, and not end up getting the help they need—which is the case for some patients who work with Fox. 'A lot of people are just like, ‘Whoa, I didn't even realise how deep [into my eating disorder] I was,’' she says.

People with orthorexia might make food choices based on different approaches they see on social media, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s backed by science, says Fox. Narrowing down the foods you eat, especially based on misinformation, is a 'slippery slope' for other disordered behaviours, she adds.

Most importantly, orthorexia can often go unnoticed. Since eating healthy is a good thing, behaviours related to orthorexia can often be encouraged. It’s important to know the signs and symptoms—and even more important to turn to experts when it comes to determining what goes into a well-balanced diet.

Orthorexia is not officially recognised in the DSM-5 (the handbook for diagnosing mental disorders), but it’s an eating disorder that has risen significantly over the past few years, according to the experts who treat it. Without formal diagnostic criteria, it’s challenging to determine exactly how many people in the UK struggle with orthorexia, but BEAT estimate that 1.25m people are struggling with an eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia or EDNOS - eating disorder not otherwise specified).

Prevalence of orthorexia varies across countries and populations, ranging from 6.9% in the Italian population to 88.7% in Brazil, per a 2021 review in the International journal of environmental research and public health. Other studies suggest orthorexia might be more common in Instagram users (49% prevalence) nutrition students (72% prevalence), and populations that exercise (55% prevalence). Plus, athletes and endurance athletes (runners especially) have higher symptom severity when it comes to orthorexia, according to a 2023 study in Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity.
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A new form of disordered eating, orthorexia, is on the rise, say experts (msn.com)

Sly Saint · Aug 18, 2024

hmm
Why NHS dieting advice is out of date

Why NHS dieting advice is out of date – and ‘low-fat spreads’ aren’t as healthy as you think (msn.com)

Midnattsol · Aug 18, 2024

This has been "news" for maybe 15 years (or more?). Heath care moving a glacier pace.

MrMagoo · Aug 18, 2024

Orthorexia has been around for so long! It used to be associated with OCD (germs, contamination etc) would cause people to exclude certain foods, have restricted eating, rituals etc. since faddy “food is medicine” stuff got big 15-20 years ago, it’s now associated more with “clean” eating and other such “health conscious” fads leading to disordered eating

Sean · Aug 19, 2024 at 12:38 AM

Prevalence of orthorexia varies across countries and populations, ranging from 6.9% in the Italian population to 88.7% in Brazil,

88.7%

That number is very difficult to take seriously.

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A new form of disordered eating, orthorexia, is on the rise, say experts

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A new form of disordered eating, orthorexia, is on the rise, say experts

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