Food fears
What happens when healthy eating becomes a damaging obsession? LISA SALMON talks to an expert on eating disorders about orthorexia
EATING a healthy diet is a vital part of staying well. But, like most things, balance is key – and if it’s taken too far, even healthy eating can became an eating disorder.
Orthorexia is described by the eating disorder charity Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk) as an unhealthy obsession with eating ‘pure’ food. That in itself might not sound too terrible, but the problem is that rather than just trying to eat healthily, people with orthorexia can feel anxious, guilty or even unclean if they eat food they’ve come to regard as ‘unhealthy’.
As a result they end up cutting out essential nutrients or whole food groups, with rigid rules around what they can and can’t eat.
Tom Quinn, Beat’s director of external affairs, says: “Signs may include cutting out food groups, seeming fixated on having a healthy diet, or feeling anxious about mealtimes.
“While eating disorders are mental illnesses that don’t always have physical symptoms, people with orthorexia may also show signs of malnutrition, such as low energy levels or feeling cold more often.”
Orthorexia isn’t officially classified as an eating disorder in itself, so people with symptoms may receive a diagnosis like anorexia or ‘other specified feeding and eating disorders’ (OSFED), explains Tom. And just because you’re following a very healthy eating plan or diet, it doesn’t mean you’ve automatically got orthorexia.
As with other eating disorders, with orthorexia, the healthy or ‘clean’ eating involved is more complex and often used to help somebody cope with difficult thoughts and feelings, or to feel in control.
“Every person will experience an eating disorder differently to the next, and so each person will feel distress about different types of food,” says Tom. “People with orthorexia often control food as a way of coping with difficult emotions, and can feel extremely anxious, guilty or stressed if they eat food they feel is ‘impure’ – often foods high in calories, sugar, or fat.”
Recovery is possible. Tom stresses that getting specialist treatment early is the best way to recover.
If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s eating, consult your GP or contact Beat.
For regional helpline details, see beateatingdisorders.org.uk/ contact-us