A Brief Overview Of Eating Disorders

Orthorexia

Unlike other eating disorders previously discussed, orthorexia is not formally recognized as an eating disorder in the DSM-5, although awareness is on the rise for this condition. Orthorexia, coined in 1998, means an obsession with healthful eating. Expressing mild concern with the nutritional content of the food consumed is not an issue. The issue with orthorexia is that the individual affected by it becomes so fixated or obsessed with healthy eating that they damage their well-being. Unfortunately, because there are no formal criteria to diagnose orthorexia, it is hard to get a handle on exactly what this condition is, such as an eating disorder on its own, a subcategory of an existing eating disorder, or a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Symptoms of orthorexia include compulsively checking nutritional labels and ingredients lists on packaged foods, cutting out more and more food groups, significant distress when healthy foods are not available, and a significant and unusually high interest in the nutrition of the food others are eating. Individuals often obsessively follow health food and lifestyle blogs and cannot eat anything but a narrow selection of foods deemed healthy or 'safe.'

Keep reading to learn about another restrictive eating disorder.