Has 'Healthy Eating' Become An Obsession?
‘Healthy eating’ is all well and good and of course has many physical, mental and emotional benefits. You’ve probably noticed it’s becoming more and more popular these days too…just think about all the wellness influencers on Instagram or TikTok, the health segments on the news and the products at the supermarket touting various health claims. Just like many other things, however, ‘healthy eating’ can be done to the extreme and turn into more of an obsession or fixation. Oftentimes, there may be guilt, anxiety, rigidity or control around food choices. This is something that’s becoming increasingly common and is in fact referred to as orthorexia.
Orthorexia is the term used to describe an obsession with ‘healthy eating’. Rather than a fixation on the quantity of food, there’s a fixation on the quality.
Although orthorexia isn’t officially recognised as an eating disorder yet according to the official DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, it’s a serious mental health condition with severe implications. As there’s no formal diagnostic criteria, it’s difficult to estimate how many people are impacted, however estimates in studies range from anywhere between 6% to 90% of the population.
As I mentioned earlier, ‘healthy eating’ is increasingly popular in today’s world, and sadly orthorexia is also on the rise. In fact, orthorexic behaviours are often misunderstood and even glorified as being good and beneficial…when in reality they can cause an immense amount of fear, shame, stress, anxiety and more. This is something I’m seeing more and more of in my clinic as well as in the world around me.
Is this something you relate to? Are you wondering if your focus on ‘healthy eating’ might have turned into a bit of an obsession? Do you think you might have orthorexic tendencies? There are various signs of orthorexia. These include:
Strictly only eating foods deemed to be ‘healthy’ or ‘clean’
Feeling distressed, anxious or overwhelmed when ‘healthy’ or ‘safe’ foods aren’t available
Cutting out food groups (e.g. sugar, carbs, fat, dairy, meat, gluten, etc), including to a point where only a minor amount of foods are considered okay to eat
Compulsively checking ingredient lists and nutrition labels
Preoccupation with supposed healthy behaviours related to eating and self imposed dietary rules (e.g. fasting or ‘cleanses’)
Rigidity and inflexibility around food, including feeling anxiety, shame, fear or a sense of uncleanliness when self imposed dietary rules are broken
Avoiding social situations for fear of no appropriate foods being available to eat
An escalation in any of these behaviours
If you identify with any of the above, know you’re not alone. There are so many wonderful resources and things that can help you. You can start by reaching out to me for a chat. Other resources for further support include:
