What is orthorexia, the disorder which sees healthy eating go too far?

According to the American National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, around 9% of the US population are affected by an eating disorder. We’ve all heard of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating, which are among the most commonly diagnosed. But there is also orthorexia.

It’s called orthorexia, coming from the Latin words “orthos”, meaning correct and “orexis”, meaning appetite. American doctor Steven Bratman coined the term in 1997. To put it simply, orthorexia is a need to eat healthy at all costs, to the extent that it becomes an obsession. Those affected start cutting out certain foods completely, or even seeing them as dangerous when they’re not really. Scientifically speaking, orthorexia isn’t recognised as an eating disorder in its own right, at least not yet. So it’s hard to find any precise data on how many people are affected. But it’s still more dangerous than you might think.

Isn’t eating healthily recommended by medical professionals? How can I find out if I suffer from orthorexia? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions !

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