Having a healthy diet is essential for health, but what happens if this becomes an obsession? In this case, it can become an alteration of food behavior called orthorexia, which, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), affects 28 per cent of the Western population.
What is orthorexia?
This term comes from Greek orthos (right, correct) and orexia (appetite or appetite), therefore, correct appetite. Nervosa orthorexia is an excessive concern about having a healthy diet. It may seem paradoxical that the intention to achieve good health through food can lead to nutritional problems, but if it becomes a sick issue, it can lead to malnutrition and social and psychological problems.
This problem is becoming more common, as the Spanish Federation of Nutrition (FEN) points out. This is not a new concept, in the year 2000 Dr. Steven Bratman published the book “Health Food Junkies,” which deals with this topic and, since then, the term has been gaining space and popularity. Obsession occurs towards organic food, without GMOs or pesticides, and foods such as sugar, dairy products, or meat are rejected without replacing them with other similar foods from a nutritional point of view.
How to know if a person suffers from orthorexia
Nervous orthorexia is not covered in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5), used by psychologists and psychiatrists to diagnose mental disorders.
We are very familiar with other eating behavior disorders (EDs) such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia; however, although suffering from any of these eating disorders, among other factors, could be the precursor for developing orthorexia nervosa, there are not enough studies that consider it an independent disorder. There is also no evidence to consider it independent of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCD).
Thus, a study determines the different characteristic signals of orthorexia:
– Obsession with healthy food and food composition.
– Severe restrictive limitation on a large number of foods that the person does not consider healthy.
– Concern focused on the quality of food rather than the pleasure of consuming it.
– Affection in the quality of life and neglect of responsibilities as a result of spending many hours on food.
– Feel guilty and concerned if you skip any of the meals.
– Intolerance towards the food beliefs of others.
– Obsessive rituals in the preparation of food and also in the way of cutting or peeling, or using certain culinary instruments.
– A phobic rejection of those foods that you do not consider fit.
– Deterioration of physical health (nutritional imbalances).
– Severe distress or affectation of social relations or work performance due to obsessive behaviors that focus on the person’s beliefs about food.
According to Dr. Bratman is a series of questions whose answers could be used as an indication against orthorexia behavior:
– Does your food behavior isolate you socially?
– Are you more concerned about the quality of food than the pleasure of eating it?
– Does the quality of your food decrease your quality of life as you increase?
To address this problem, psychological therapy will always be necessary for the person to understand that they have to eat in a balanced and varied way, and even nutritionists intervene to break false myths about certain foods.
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