Orthorexia: What is it and why is it unhealthy?

Did you know that it can be unhealthy to have an obsession with eating healthy? Orthorexia is a health condition that involves an individual having an unhealthy obsession with eating foods they label as healthy.

Is orthorexia an eating disorder? Orthorexia is not currently recognized as a clinical diagnosis in the DSM-5. It does however have similar characteristics that you may see in an individual with an eating disorder. The similarity is found in the obsession factor. An individual may live their life according to their obsession to eat healthy. This may lead to social isolation, inability to eat intuitively, and planning their life around food.

You may be wondering… So does this mean I shouldn’t try to eat healthy? The answer is no. It is important to live a healthy lifestyle, but eating healthy becomes unhealthy when a person is spending a majority of their time obsessing over food or using the obsession to focus on food rather than other issues they may not have control over in their life. It can also be unhealthy when the individual feels guilt and shame when eating foods they do not classify as healthy.

Society has focused greatly on eating healthy and the pressure to be thin. Because healthy eating has become trendy and a hot topic, a person may not realize their behaviors are actually unhealthy. Although it is important to eat healthy and fuel our bodies with foods that make us feel good, it is not healthy to be obsessive over it. There can be many layers as to why a person has orthorexia so it is important to understand what may have been the root cause to orthorexia.

The National Eating Disorders Association has come up with a list of questions that can help you consider if you have orthorexia:

• Do you wish that occasionally you could just eat and not worry about food quality?
• Do you ever wish you could spend less time on food and more time living and loving?
• Does it seem beyond your ability to eat a meal prepared with love by someone else – one single meal – and not try to control what is served?
• Are you constantly looking for ways foods are unhealthy for you?
• Do love, joy, play and creativity take a back seat to following the perfect diet?
• Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet?
• Do you feel in control when you stick to the “correct” diet?
• Have you put yourself on a nutritional pedestal and wonder how others can possibly eat the foods they eat?

If you are someone you know may be struggling with orthorexia, seek treatment from individuals whom have knowledge working with eating disorders. For example a physiologist, doctor, registered dietitian, or other professionals that can help.