Healthy eating is a priority for many, but can one go too far? Orthorexia is a pathological obsession with food quality that drives some individuals to adopt increasingly rigid dietary practices, compromising their physical and psychological balance. Let’s delve into this concerning disorder.
The pursuit of healthy eating is encouraged by nutrition guidelines and is often seen as beneficial for health. However, when this quest for ‘proper eating’ becomes an obsession, it can have detrimental effects on both body and mind.
In the age of social media and influencers promoting ever-stricter diets, the line between balance and excess blurs.
When does the desire for proper nutrition cross into extremism? Orthorexia, an often-overlooked eating disorder, converts the pursuit of a healthy diet into a mental prison, jeopardizing both physical health and psychological well-being.
The obsession with “clean eating”: how far can one go?
From Balance to Excess: Understanding Orthorexia
Orthorexia is a pathological fixation on healthy and pure food. This term is derived from the Greek words ortho (correct) and orexis (appetite). Unlike anorexia, which focuses on the quantity of food, orthorexia emphasizes the quality of what one consumes. Someone with orthorexia eliminates everything deemed unhealthy.
This disorder often starts with a simple desire to eat better. It progresses toward increasingly rigid eating rules. Moreover, the person with orthorexia spends a significant amount of time selecting food. Consequently, they avoid social meals and experience intense guilt if they stray from their diet.
An obsession fueled by society
Orthorexia exists within a context where food is ubiquitous and accompanied by contradictory expectations.
- The influence of media and celebrities: trends like clean eating, strict veganism, or gluten-free diets are rising, often amplified by influencers and the media. The notion that a perfect diet can prevent all illnesses leads some individuals to impose excessive restrictions.
- Social media magnifies this trend: it glorifies “pure” foods while demonizing others, creating an anxious environment where eating becomes a source of stress rather than enjoyment.
- The need for control and perfection: anxious and perfectionistic individuals are particularly susceptible. Food becomes a means of mastery and reassurance for them. They impose strict dietary rules to mitigate uncertainty and live in constant fear of poor eating choices.
Who is affected? High-risk profiles
Orthorexia can affect anyone, but certain groups are at greater risk:
- Fitness enthusiasts and athletes: eager to improve their performance, they may adopt extreme dietary approaches.
- Healthcare and nutrition professionals: their knowledge of food can lead to overly stringent perspectives.
- Followers of restrictive diets: vegetarians, vegans, or gluten-free individuals may cut out too many foods and slide into obsession.
- Individuals with a history of eating disorders: some may pivot their focus from food quantity to quality.
- Heavy consumers of nutritional content: faced with alarming and shaming messages, they may develop an irrational fear of certain foods.
These combined factors contribute to the emergence of orthorexic behaviors, which can sometimes be challenging to identify before they affect physical and mental health.
Hidden dangers of orthorexia
Deficiencies, fatigue, and malnutrition: when the body says stop
Ironically, this pursuit of the perfect diet can lead to severe nutritional deficiencies:
- Vitamin and mineral deficits: when orthorexia forces the elimination of certain food groups, such as dairy, grains, or meat, deficiencies can occur. Specifically, lack of calcium, iron, or vitamins B12 and D can weaken the body, impacting bone health, immune function, and energy production.
- Malnutrition and excessive weight loss: strict dietary restrictions reduce caloric intake, potentially resulting in pathological thinness and metabolic disorders.
- Digestive issues: a monotonous and restrictive diet can disrupt gut microbiota, causing bloating or transit problems.
Mental entrapment: anxiety, isolation, and loss of enjoyment in eating
Orthorexia generates constant anxiety. The fear of consuming a “bad” food creates immense guilt and daily stress, leading to:
- Social isolation: going out to eat or sharing meals becomes a challenge when others do not share the same dietary expectations.
- Anxiety and depressive disorders: the rigidity of diet creates constant psychological pressure and growing discontent.
- A loss of joy in eating: mealtime shifts from a pleasure to a task of control and restriction.
Social life and work: when everything revolves around food
Social and professional relationships may deteriorate as the individual with orthorexia dedicates considerable time to meal planning and searching for “perfect” foods. This can lead to:
- Tensions with family and friends, who may not fully understand these drastic restrictions.
- A decline in concentration and effectiveness at work, as the obsession with food occupies a central role in daily life.
Regaining food freedom: an achievable challenge
Recognizing the signs
Several indicators may signal the presence of orthorexia:
- An excessive focus on meal composition, spending an unusually long time planning.
- An outsized anxiety about dietary deviations.
- Social withdrawal due to restrictive eating habits.
- A sense of superiority over those who do not follow the same dietary practices.
Rediscovering the joy of eating without guilt
To avoid slipping into extremity, it is crucial to:
- Embrace intuitive eating, listening to genuine cravings and needs.
- Keep dietary choices in perspective, accepting that no food is entirely “good” or “bad.”
- Relearn to eat with pleasure, free of guilt.
Solutions for liberation
Management relies on several approaches:
- Psychological support, particularly through cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), to dismantle rigid thought patterns.
- Dietary guidance to gradually reintroduce a more varied and peaceful way of eating.
- The support of close ones, which plays a crucial role in helping to let go and reestablish a healthy relationship with food.
Orthorexia is a subtle disorder that can, under the guise of good intentions, lead to physical, psychological, and social imbalances. In a society that glorifies the “perfect” diet, it is essential to maintain a tranquil relationship with food.
Eating healthily does not have to mean imposing extreme limitations. The goal is to find a balance where health is measured not only by what goes on the plate but also by the pleasure and freedom one maintains regarding food.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW
Individuals suffering from orthorexia spend, on average, more than three hours a day thinking about their diet, planning their meals, and checking the quality of consumed foods.
