Although not formally recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, awareness about orthorexia is on the rise. The term 'orthorexia' was coined in ...FacebookInstagramTwitterPinterestYouarehereHome/Learn/WhatareEatingDisorders?/InformationbyEatingDisorderOrthorexiaAlthoughnotformallyrecognizedintheDiagnosticandStatisticalManual,awarenessaboutorthorexiaisontherise.Theterm‘orthorexia’wascoinedin1998andmeansanobsessionwithproperor‘healthful’eating.Althoughbeingawareofandconcernedwiththenutritionalqualityofthefoodyoueatisn’taprobleminandofitself,peoplewithorthorexiabecomesofixatedonso-called‘healthyeating’thattheyactuallydamagetheirownwell-being.Withoutformaldiagnosticcriteria,it’sdifficulttogetanestimateonpreciselyhowmanypeoplehaveorthorexia,andwhetherit’sastand-aloneeatingdisorder,atypeofexistingeatingdisorderslikeanorexia,oraformofobsessive-compulsivedisorder.Studieshaveshownthatmanyindividualswithorthorexiaalsohaveobsessive-compulsivedisorder. WARNINGSIGNS&SYMPTOMSOFORTHOREXIACompulsivecheckingofingredientlistsandnutritionallabelsAnincreaseinconcernaboutthehealthofingredientsCuttingoutanincreasingnumberoffoodgroups(allsugar,allcarbs,alldairy,allmeat,allanimalproducts)Aninabilitytoeatanythingbutanarrowgroupoffoodsthataredeemed‘healthy’or‘pure’UnusualinterestinthehealthofwhatothersareeatingSpendinghoursperdaythinkingaboutwhatfoodmightbeservedatupcomingeventsShowinghighlevelsofdistresswhen‘safe’or‘healthy’foodsaren’tavailableObsessivefollowingoffoodand‘healthylifestyle’blogsonTwitterandInstagramBodyimageconcernsmayormaynotbepresentHEALTHCONSEQUENCESOFORTHOREXIALikeanorexia,orthorexiainvolvesrestrictionoftheamountandvarietyoffoodseaten,makingmalnutritionlikely.Therefore,thetwodisorderssharemanyofthesamephysicalconsequences. Learnmoreabouthealthconsequences>Learnmoreabouteatingdisordersstatistics>TREATMENTTherearecurrentlynoclinicaltreatmentsdevelopedspecificallyfororthorexia,butmanyeatingdisorderexpertstreatorthorexiaasavarietyofanorexiaand/orobsessive-compulsive