Have You Heard Of Orthorexia?
While most people know what the terms anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder mean, many people may not be as familiar with the definition of orthorexia . Orthorexia Nervosa, or orthorexia , is a term that means ‘correct appetite” but in practice it is a fixation on righteous eating. Orthorexia is characterized by a fixation or a desire to only eat ‘healthy’ foods or to avoid entire food groups. The term was introduced in 1997 by Steven Bratman, M.D., to be used as a parallel with other eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa. Although orthorexia is found in the English Lexicon, it is not a formal diagnosis. Until recent doctors tended to include orthorexics under the catch-all label of Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Recognized (EDNOS). However, experts now say that orthorexics take up such a significant portion of the EDNOS group that they are being treated separately. The condition of orthorexia nervosa affects equal numbers of men and women,