Although it is a little-researched, still-disputed medical condition, which is not yet recognized as an “official” eating disorder, it designates the desire to eat healthy, “clean”, unprocessed foods to an extent that it becomes a life-ruining compulsion.
The term “orthorexia” was created in 1997 by Dr Steven Bratman, who did not originally intend for it to become a diagnosis.
In 2009, he told the New York Times he used it for patients who kept coming to him with increasingly obsessive concerns about their diets.
Orthorexia, as Bratman defines it, is a disorder distinct from anorexia or bulimia. “It’s not the diet that’s the problem — it’s the obsession that accompanies it.”
The only difference is that, unlike anorexia, where food intake is restricted, or bulimia, where food binges are followed by some form of purging, orthorexia always involves an intense compulsion to stick to any single way of eating food, thinking and behaving around food.
It is not the same as following a specific eating plan for ethical reasons, or because of food intolerance. Yet the line between the two is often blurred, which is why orthorexia can go undetected or unnoticed, as in the fitness industry.
Whether one’s particular compulsion is to follow a paleo/caveman, macrobiotic, low-fat, low-carb or gluten-free diet does not matter. But when choice and flexibility become compulsion and rigidity, it’s usually a sign that something deeper is going on.
Here are 8 warning signs that you, or someone you know, may be suffering from orthorexia:
1. Obsession with maintaining what the sufferer determines to be a “perfect” diet.
2. Restricting foods because of allergies that are often not confirmed by a doctor.
3. Excessive and obsessive use of supplements.
4. Often low weight.
5. Obsession with exercise.
6. Irrational behaviors regarding food preparation and cleanliness.
7. Fixation on foods that are believed to be healthy and “pure”.
8. Obsession about the links between foods and any related health concerns.