Orthorexia Nervosa

Orthorexia nervosa is a proposed eating disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with eating healthy food. The term was introduced in 1997 by the American physician Steven Bratman, who suggested that dietary restrictions intended to promote health can paradoxically lead to unhealthy consequences such as social isolation, anxiety, loss of the ability to eat in a natural and intuitive manner, and in rare cases severe malnutrition or death. Ursula Philpot, chair of the British Dietetic Association, described sufferers as solely concerned with the quality rather than the quantity of the food they eat, unlike anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa; research has found orthorexia nervosa affects men and women equally, with significant positive correlations to narcissism and perfectionism but not to self-esteem. It is not currently recognized as an official eating disorder diagnosis.