Anorexia: When healthy eating becomes a disorder

Nowadays, there is a great preoccupation with healthy drinking becoming a disorder. Anorexia can also have serious emotional and physical consequences. Healthy eating takes it to an extreme, where it begins to cause problems for people in their lives and begins to feel a loss of control over eating.

A healthy diet is the most effective measure in improving physical as well as mental health. However, for some people, too much focus on healthy eating can become an obsession and develop into a healthy eating disorder known as orthorexia.
Unlike other eating disorders, people with orthorexia mainly focus on food quality, which is radically different from anorexia or bulimia.
People with healthy eating disorders rarely lose weight. They often focus too much on foods that they consider to be clean, pure, and healthy. This syndrome was discovered in 1997 by American doctor Steven Bratman and named it orthorexia, a term derived from the Greek word orthos meaning "standard".

People with orthorexia initially start a healthy diet with the intention of improving their health, but then they become so obsessed with foods they consider safe, that healthy eating turns to extremes. until they develop into an eating disorder.

Research into the specific causes of orthorexia has not been done much, but a tendency toward obsessive compulsions as well as previous eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia may be a risk factor. orthorexia in addition to a number of other causes such as perfectionism, excessive anxiety or loss of self-control.
Some studies also show that people who need to focus on their diet because of their work: athletes, singers, dancers... have a higher risk of developing healthy eating disorders than the average person. often.
Age, sex, education level and socioeconomic status are also risk factors for orthorexia.

In some cases it can be difficult to distinguish a healthy eating disorder from other normal eating concerns. For this reason, it can be difficult to determine how common orthorexia is.
Incidence in some published studies ranges from 6% to 90%, because the criteria for diagnosing healthy eating disorders are unclear and have not been agreed worldwide. .
Some criteria do not even take into account the negative effects of orthorexia on mental, physical and social health. Healthy eating only really becomes a problem when it adversely affects daily activities such as rapid weight loss or refusal to gather, socialize, eat with family or friends...
If When the above negative effects are included in the evaluation criteria, the rate of healthy eating disorders is less than 1% and it is completely equivalent to the rate of other types of eating disorders.

To clarify the difference between healthy eating and orthorexia, 2 American doctors, Bratman and Dunn, proposed the following 2 diagnostic criteria:
Obsessive focus on the problem of healthy eating leads to behaviors that force themselves into a diet that they consider optimal for health. Any kind of food off the menu will cause anxiety and fear when using them. In addition, orthorexia can cause them to completely eliminate other beneficial food groups due to fear of their unhygienic status. Behaviors that affect daily life: Being too obsessed with orthorexia can lead to serious problems: Medical problems: Malnutrition, severe weight loss or other illnesses Change in habits Daily life habits: Excessive belief in the best diet for health causes many people to neglect other activities such as eating, playing with relatives and friends, studying as well as work. Emotional dependence: Not feeling satisfied with any food that is considered unhygienic can make people with orthorexia feel uncomfortable and often irritable with people around.

The negative health effects of orthorexia usually fall into one of three categories:
Physical effects: Not much research has been done on this, however deficiencies in some nutrients due to eating disorders Healthy drinking can lead to malnutrition, anemia or irregular heartbeat reduction, or digestive problems like electrolyte imbalance, hormone disorders, decreased bone density... These are all variables. dangerous condition, potentially affecting human life. Mental effects: The most expressed is nervous breakdown. People with orthorexia can feel extreme frustration, guilt, and discomfort when they are not eating a diet that they think is optimal for their health. This can lead to a reduced quality of life. In addition, a large amount of time of the day will be wasted on assessing whether a certain food is clean enough or not. People with healthy eating disorders find it difficult to perform well in jobs that require high flexibility. They also find it difficult to maintain focus on their work and surroundings. Social influence: People with orthorexia always give themselves the right to choose and prepare food for others, in addition to extreme strictness about specific times of the day. Such rigidity can make it difficult for them to participate in social activities, socialize with colleagues, friends and family.... Many people with healthy eating disorders isolate themselves. I and everyone around me lead to depression.

The consequences of orthorexia are as serious as those of other eating disorders. If left untreated, they can leave dangerous complications to human health.
The first step to overcoming a healthy eating disorder is to identify its presence. However, people with orthorexia usually do not feel this. They do not realize its effects on physical, mental and social health.
People who have recognized the negative effects of orthorexia should seek medical attention from doctors, psychologists and nutritionists for treatment in the following ways:
Behavior modification Re-awareness of eat healthy Try to use a variety of diets Health education about nutrition can help them gradually become aware of and let go of false beliefs about a healthy diet. Paying attention to your diet as well as choosing clean foods is a way to help you ensure your health. However, for some people, this backfires and leaves them with a healthy eating disorder. This significantly affects health, psychology and social life or even causes life-threatening complications. Orthorexia needs to be detected early and treated promptly by doctors, psychologists, nutritionists to avoid serious consequences.
Customers can directly go to Vinmec Health system nationwide to visit or contact the hotline here for support.
Articles refer to sources: healthline.com, webmd.com