Orthorexia: How Obsession With Healthy Foods Can Be A Serious Problem That Affects Even Kids

Orthorexia nervosa is the current alarming eating disorder that is gaining more and more popularity because of its range. Dietitians fear it to be on the rise of affecting even kids.

Considering mental illness cases, orthorexia is usually described as an obsession with thinness, as with anorexia. However, it differs in a way that the person suffering from it is obsessed with pure and healthy foods.

Being engaged into eating healthy foods is good but when it becomes an obsession, it can lead to serious problems. People with orthorexia are willing to starve themselves than eat food that they consider unhealthy.

In addition, people with orthorexia spend time thinking about, choosing and preparing healthy food. The disorder is also believed to intefer with other dimensions of life, such as love, creativity, family, friendship, work and school, according to orthorexia.com. Simple initial tests can be taken if a person is suffering from this eating disorder through online assessment designed by dieticians like orthorexia.com.

Patients usually spend hours preparing food and fixating on ingredient lists, says Holland Dietician Pamela Smith in an interview with Fox17. The obsession goes by measuring portion sizes, plan meals several days ahead and then avoid social situations due to the commitment to being thin and being away from unhealthy foods.

Orthorexia patients usually do not want to eat any food at all otherwise they are the ones who prepared it. This does not just destroy their social life but also their relationship with family, whom they are supposed to be eating with.

Smith says that orthorexia often begins even when the patient acts being very innocent and without knowing it, they are already excluding food groups. This patient is actually putting himself or herself at risks for possible malnutrition.

When someone in the family suffers from this kind of eating disorder, it is important to seek professional help immediately. Each family should also be educated about this especially the kids to prevent worse sufferings.