In this day and age, America has heard time and time again that it is getting, well, fat. When the economy is doing poorly and the cheapest food is fast, greasy and unhealthy, it’s not hard to see why many people are forced or have chosen to eat the way that they do. A bag of cheese balls is cheaper than a bag of organic low-fat cheese curls. But on the other side of the spectrum, could people be hurting themselves by obsessing over eating healthier? This may seem somewhat far-fetched but according to doctors, there’s a new eating disorder called Orthorexia.
According to the Oxford English dictionary, Orthorexia is defined as, “Excessive concern with consuming a diet considered to be correct in some respect, often involving the elimination of foods or food groups supposed to be harmful to health.” How can one tell if they are being obsessive and compulsive about eating healthy, or just simply cautious?
Signs of Orthorexia include extreme analysis of what one is taking into their body. For example if someone will not consume a home-cooked meal because they are concerned what amount of fat they may be eating, they may be at risk. Orthorexia used to be confused with anorexia, and is only now being distinguished as something completely separate. Those with Orthorexia are concerned about being skinny, but their approach to staying skinny is determined as an eating disorder because of the obsessive and compulsive aspects of their actions.
“Orthorexia begins innocently enough, as a desire to overcome chronic illness or to improve general health,” says David Michael Knight CHT and Steven Bratman MD in their book “Eating for Perfection,” here quoted on the website EatingDisordersOnline.com.
“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,” they state on the website, “The act of eating pure food begins to carry pseudo-spiritual connotations.”
Because the desire to be organic and pure is what causes the eating disorder in the first place, many people suffering with Orthorexia reject medication such as drugs and anti-depressants. This makes treatment more difficult than someone who would willingly accept medication after they have been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
According to the South Carolina Department of State website, it is estimated that, “in America eight million people are suffering from some form of an eating disorder, seven million women and one million men.” Eating disorders also have the highest death rates of any mental illness, and only one in ten people with an eating disorder will actually receive treatment.
It is easy to see how, with these shocking statistics, it would not be hard for someone to cover up an eating disorder with the excuse that they are just trying to eat healthy. This means that the individual alone is responsible for what they put into their body, and are ultimately the only person that can help themselves if they are suffering from an eating disorder.
The internet is a viable resource for medical information – students who feel that they or someone they know may be suffering from an eating disorder, orthorexia or any other, should go online and read the statistics of just how harmful eating disorders are to the human body. Other options may include seeking the advise of a health professional or counseling. No matter what way you go about it, getting treatment just may save a life.