Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links

Orthorexia

Orthorexia nervosa is one of a little-known group of eating disorders. The term uses "ortho," in its meaning as straight, correct and true, to modify "anorexia nervosa." Orthorexia nervosa refers to a fixation on eating proper food.

In Eating for Perfection, authors David Michael Knight CHT and Steven Bratman MD describe orthorexia. “Orthorexia begins innocently enough, as a desire to overcome chronic illness or to improve general health. Over time, what they eat, how much, and the consequences of dietary indiscretion come to occupy a greater and greater proportion of the orthorexic's day. The act of eating pure food begins to carry pseudo-spiritual connotations. As orthorexia progresses, a day filled with sprouts, umeboshi plums and amaranth biscuits comes to feel as holy as one spent serving the poor and homeless.”

Treatment is tricky, however, because orthorexics "will consider drugs such as antidepressants to be 'impure' and unnatural," wrote Dr. Steven Bratman, who is credited with coining the term in the 1990s."

There is some controversy regarding orthorexia as a disease, and many view simply as a health phenomena. Douglas Bunnell, president of the National Eating Disorders Association, believes that while orthorexia may be important as a lay concept, in terms of treatment it differs from anorexia only in the finer points.

Eating Disorder Support Groups

The Eating Disorder Support Groups at SupportGroups.com is for individuals, friends and families who are looking to connect during life's challenging times. Share personal experiences, evaluate information and get support during times of need, illness, treatment or recovery.

Click here to start getting support at SupportGroups.com

 

Related Resources

wikipedia.org: Orthorexia
Orthorexia.com: Orthorexia
Abcnews.com: Orthorexia

 

Related Articles

Over Exercise
Over Eating
Night Eating

 

Videos

Youtube.com: Orthorexia

 

Books

Amazon.com: Orthorexia

 

News

Google News: Orthorexia

SupportGroups.com

Eating Disorder Support Groups

support groups

The Eating Disorder Support Groups at SupportGroups.com is for individuals, friends and families who are looking to connect during life's challenging times. Share personal experiences, evaluate information and get support during times of need, illness, treatment or recovery.

Click here to start getting support at SupportGroups.com

Sponsored Links
Poll
Why Did You Visit This Site?:
User login
Latest Blog Entries

Did You Know?

Bulimia nervosa may accompany anorexia, or it may occur by itself. It is estimated to occur in 1.1 to 4.2% of females. Bulimia nervosa can lead to severe tooth decay, intestinal and kidney problems, muscle cramps, heart problems, ruptured stomach or esophagus, and death.

More Statistics...

Sponsored Links
eatless