Orthorexia nervosa – the border between healthy eating and eating disorders

Abstract

The term orthorexia nervosa (ON), presented in 1997 in Yoga Journal by Dr. Steven Bratman, sheds new light on the view on healthy eating habits. He showed that persistent thinking about nutrition does not necessarily have to be associated with anorexia or bulimia, and may turn into something so far unknown - obsessive control over the healthiest eating style, resulting in numerous self-imposed restrictions and in the long run, without appropriate therapy, leading to the deterioration of the current state of health. Orthorexia can have many consequences not only on mental health, but also on physical health. For this reason, the development of standard diagnostic and classification criteria for orthorexia nervosa is a priority. The problem of eating disorders should be the subject of epidemiological research, which will take into account demographic, cultural and socio-economic conditions appropriate for a given population, and will also take into account the pressure of factors related to the food market.

Keywords

• orthorexia
• orthorexia nervosa
• eating disorders
• nutrition
• health