Orthorexic eating behavior

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: May 22, 2015 | Revision accepted: July 8, 2015

A new type of disordered eating

Introduction

In 1997, US-American physician Steven Bratman created the term „orthorexia nervosa“, combining the Greek words orthós meaning „proper, correct“ and órexis signifying „appetite“ [1]. Analogous to anorexia nervosa, the newly created term orthorexia nervosa describes the fixation on health-conscious eating behavior. Additional characteristics of orthorexic eating behavior are ongoing mental preoccupation with healthy nutrition, overvalued ideas concerning the effects and potential health-promoting benefits of foods as well as rigid adherence to self-imposed nutrition rules. The desire to be thin and the intentional weight loss are irrelevant according to Bratman. In fact, the core symptom of orthorexia is the fear of falling ill due to unhealthy nutrition, and in some cases also the attempt to heal present symptoms with a particularly healthy diet [1].

To evaluate health-promoting benefits of foods, orthorexic individuals implement personal and mainly subjective criteria, that may correspond to the dietary recommendations by the German Nutrition Society [2], but which may also be considered critical from a nutritional or physiological perspective, as for example the macrobiotic diet [3].The individual characteristics of orthorexic eating behavior are versatile and depend on the subjective definition of healthy eating.

Summary

Persistent fixation on healthy nutrition and avoidance of food considered unhealthy in fear of developing an illness is known as “orthorexic eating behavior” and is being recently discussed as a new type of disordered eating. Further characteristics include the presence of overvalued ideas concerning effectiveness and supposed health-promoting effects of foods as well as obsessive and ritualized ways of preparing and consuming foods. The estimated prevalence of orthorexic eating behavior within the German general population amounts to 1–3 %, with predominantly young females affected. New studies indicate that symptoms of orthorexic and anorexic eating behavior tend to overlap, which brings up the question of possibly classifying orthorexia as a subtype of anorexia. Finally, this paper proposes a therapeutic approach combining interventions and methods from classic eating disorder therapy and nutritional counseling as a mean of treating possible consequences of mental or social distress caused by orthorexia.

Keywords: orthorexia, anorexia, eating behavior, healthy eating, compulsivity, nutrition psychology 

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