by VK Freelance

Created on: July 08, 2009   Last Updated: July 09, 2009

Differences between Orthorexia nervosa and Anorexia nervosa.

Orthorexia nervosa is a lesser known eating disease, with its sister anorexia high in the public eye. The term was coined by Steven Bratman, an MD who studied the illness.

A sufferer of Orthorexia has an unhealthy obsessions with eating certain foods, whereas a sufferer of Anorexia focuses on how much they eat.

Just like Anorexics they become obsessed with food, but Orthorexics focus on only eating healthy foods, and avoiding 'bad foods' such as fats, animal products, preservatives, anything considered unhealthy by the sufferer, they could label any food 'bad'.

Such dietary restrictions can cause malnutrition and emaciation of the victims, and even death. It is believed that this condition could be as serious as anorexia, but the motivation is very different. Whilst an anorexic wants to be thin and lose weight, a sufferer of Orthorexia only wants to be healthy and 'pure.' They maintain this sense of purity by feeding themselves only pure foods or good goods. It is often hard to distinguish between the two so many that suffer from Orthorexia may be misdiagnoses as anorexic, when the treatment is quiet different. Also it should be noted that Orthorexia, despite the clear symptoms, is not an official medical diagnosis, unlike Anorexia which is a definitive diagnosis.

Orthorexia is defined as a "maniacal obsession for healthy foods" with patterns often similar to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, with set eating times and foods that they label as 'bad, unhealthy, impure, Anorexics rarely choose to eat any food at all, restricting their diet completely in the effort to be as thin as possible, Orthorexics don't desire thinness, just health.

For diagnostic criteria there are 2 questions to be asked outright, Do you care more about the virtue of what you eat than the pleasure you receive from eating it?... Does your diet socially isolate you." Obviously the answer to these questions could be positive in anyone simply following a diet plan, or trying to lose any weight, so further diagnostic criteria must be imposed. The following signs are just some of those displayed by someone with Orthorexia:

Spending a lot of time thinking about healthy food Getting a feeling of control when they stick to their plan. Planning what you will eat tomorrow right down to every bite A feeling of guilt or self-hate when they stray from their plan. Having a list of food that is 'bad' and 'good' Having a feeling of virtue

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