Essay On Orthorexia Nervosa

Many people are unaware of the background of eating disorders. Women are more likely than men to develop an eating disorder and they usually develop in childhood before the age of 20 (Ross-Flanigan 1). Women as well as men can develop an eating disorder; it is just more likely for a woman to develop one. Eating disorders are usually developed in adolescent or childhood years when a person is influenced the most. Also “Eating disorders are psychological conditions that involve overeating, voluntary starvation, or both. Anorexia nervosa, anorexic bulimia, and binge eating are the most well-known types of eating disorders” (Ross-Flanigan 1). Many people assume that an eating disorder is when a person staves themselves; they do not realize that it can involve overeating as well. Some eating disorders also involve purging, but not all. People with an eating disorder fear gaining weight even when they are severely underweight. They do not lack an appetite (Ross-Flanigan 1). These people are

It has been found that eating disorders are most common in the western and industrialized culture where food is abundant. This is because these individuals attach a lot of importance to their physical appearance and are willing to do anything to get the dream figure. An eating disorder is not just watching what one eats and exercising on a daily basis but is rather an illness that causes serious disturbances in eating behaviour, such as great and harmful cutback of the consumption of food as well as feelings of serious anxiety about their body shape or mass. They would start to stop themselves to go out anywhere just so that they could work out and burn all of the calories of a meal or snack that they had scoffed earlier. Two of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The regular description of a patient with either disease would be a youthful white female, with an upper social standing in a predictably socially competitive environment.

First lets look at the history of eating disorders. The very first case of an eating disorder diagnosed was actually a male. In 1689, Dr. Richard Morton described a case of “nervous consumption” in a 16-year-old male and he was prescribed restraint from

Eating disorders are largely considered to be a "female disease". Statistics seem to validate this perception – of the estimated five million-plus adults in the United States who have an eating disorder, only ten percent are thought to be male ((1)). Many professionals, however, hold the opinion that these numbers are incorrect – it is impossible to base the statistics on anything other than the number of adults diagnosed with eating disorders, and men are much less likely than women to seek help for such a problem ((2)). This means that the male population probably suffers more from eating disorders than the numbers show.

There are several categories of eating disorders and the etiology differs among individuals. Weight and physical appearance has a direct relation to the food we ingest. Young women often seek an ideal look and weight. This perceived image is often a product of media influences such as televisions, and magazines, as well as generalized peer pressure. Women are more apt to suffer from eating disorders. Young women are specifically affected. Historian John Brumberg concluded that about 95% of people who suffer from eating disorders are women between the ages of 12 to 25. The Food and Drug Administration reported only 5 to 10% of the population that is afflicted with an eating disorder is males (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

According to the Mayo Clinic (2016), eating disorders are “conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions, and your ability to function in important areas of life.” One such eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Not to be confused with anorexia, which is simply a general loss of appetite that can be attributed to many medical ailments, anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder and mental illness (Nordqvist, 2015). Anorexia nervosa is estimated to affect about .9% of women and .3% of men in their lifetime (“Eating Disorder Statistics & Research,” n.d.). In general, the disorder is commonly characterized by a distorted body image or self-concept, critically low weight (with respect to the patient’s height and age), and an irrational fear of becoming fat or an intense desire to be thin. There are two subtypes to this eating disorder: restrictive and binge/purge. In the restrictive type, the individual limits caloric intake and may compulsively over-exercise. In the binge/purge type, the individual consumes a considerable amount of food in a short period of time (binging) and then deliberately vomits (purging), takes laxatives, or fasts intensely in order to compensate for the food eaten (“General Information: Anorexia Nervosa,” n.d.). In either case, anorexia nervosa is undoubtedly a dangerous and alarming illness.

An eating disorder is an obsessive collection of interrelated behaviors directed towards persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact one’s health, emotions, and ability to function in important areas of life. These compulsive practices and attitudes about food, weight and body shape, manifest into deep psychological fears and an incessant need for control. Some common features of eating disorders include an irrational fear of fat, dissatisfaction with one 's body often coupled with a distorted perception of body shape, unhealthy weight management and extreme food intake. This disordered eating behavior is usually an effort to solve a variety of emotional difficulties about which the individual feels out of control. Males and females of all social and economic classes, races and intelligence levels can develop an eating disorder (Perfect). There are currently three main types of eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Each one as dangerous as the next, but yet heavily overlooked and/or misunderstood in society today (Perfect); A review of nearly fifty years of research confirms that anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder (Arcelus, Mitchell, Wales, & Nielsen, 2011).

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that consists of self-regulated food restriction in which the person strives for thinness and also involves distortion of the way the person sees his or her own body. An anorexic person weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight. The prevalence of eating disorders is between .5-1% of women aged 15-40 and about 1/20 of this number occurs in men. Anorexia affects all aspects of an affected person's life including emotional health, physical health, and relationships with others (Shekter-Wolfson et al 5-6). A study completed in 1996 showed that anorexics also tend to possess traits that are obsessive in nature and carry heavy emotional

Genes that have been identified to contribute to eating disorders are associated with specific personality traits. These aspects of personality are thought to be inheritable and exist before the eating disorder and can persist after recovery. Traits such as perfectionism, sensitivity, and impulsivity are common among people who develop eating disorders. Because these traits are inherited, is it possible one’s qualities are the cause of the disease? V. M. Quick & C. Byrd-Bredbenner mention in the article, “Disturbed eating behaviors and associated psychographic characteristics of college students” state that “Poor psychological well-being also is common among individuals with disturbed eating practices. For example, as depression and anxiety severity increase, so do disturbed eating practices, such as dietary restraint and disinhibited eating” (1). Females are known to have these traits and are more susceptible to disorders but this does not mean a male is any less likely to have an eating disorder. Welch, Elisabeth, Ata Ghader, and Ingemar Swenne state in the article, “A Comparison Of Clinical Characteristics Between Adolescent Males And Females With Eating Disorders” that “Eating disorders have traditionally been thought to affect mainly females. As recently as four decades ago there was a debate as to whether or not males could have eating disorders at all, especially anorexia. Although there is a consensus today that ED do not dis- criminate between genders, there are different opinions as to how common eating disorders are among males. However irrational, an eating disorder provides a goal and sense of identity, achievement, and power to those with these

He was the first one who gave credit to this term. He created this term for those, who became obsessed with a healthy diet/lifestyle. "This is not a weight loss regimen but an immense phobia about eating only "pure" food. Having orthorexia nervosa not only means that people are obsessed with eating "healthily", but also that they have a specific attitude to food, they prepare their food in a certain way [1] as well as avoid consumption of some foods or all of a some group of foods since they consider them to be harmful for their health"(Orthorexia Nervosa). After time patients become more concern about the quality of food than anything else happening around them. Their obsession becomes the part of their lives: they are not going to go out that often, they are going to cut out people they used to care about from their lives. All they are going to think about is food: the preparation, their diet plan/schedule, how to make it more healthy. They are going to cut out sugar and fat from their diet, and if they consume any of it, they are going to feel guilt. They spend the majority of time thinking about these topics. They are going to spend more time thinking about their diet than live their lives. That is the point when one may need some help. So, since it is not a common disease, is there any treatment for

Not only is there the idea that there is a pattern, but also that other disordered eating's have had their criteria to be discussed. The first commonly thought of is anorexia nervosa. Common between anorexia and orthorexia is OCD. In which case OCD is the need to control and the sense of perfectionism. Both of these disordered eating's want to perfected some aspect of their food intake and the quality of food that they consume. A prevalence in anorexia nervosa is 0.9% in women and 0.3% in men (Dell’Osso et al., 2016). Similarly like anorexia, bulimia is also a well-known disordered eating's. As of 2000, bulimia incidence rate remained stable for the ages 10-19 years-old for females in the UK at 40 per 100,000 person-years (Smink et al, 2012). The good news is that bulimia nervosa is slowing decreasing over time. This could be in part do to the ability to comprehend and discuss what is considered bulimia. Another disordered eating that has been changed since first establish is Avoidant and Restrive Food Intake Disorder. Formerly known as selective eating it was often referred mostly to young children. ARFID is a problem with eating and/or feeding. This can lead to nutritional deficiency and the lack of energy (Nicely et al, 2014). Such things that people who develop orthorexia could develop. Orthorexia is also similar to that EDNOS. EDNOS stands for eating disorder not otherwise specified and is heterogenous (Smink et al, 2012). Thus, this result implicates that neither females or males stands out above one another just like orthorexia. There has been studies done to find prevalence in gender, but results vary from study to study. EDNOS is very commonly given to someone who has an eating disorder. The disadvantage of this type of disordered eating's is because if can lead to other miss diagnoses and the difficulty for obtaining appropriate treatment (Nicely et al,

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders 5th edition defines anorexia nervosa as an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss; it is a serious and potentially life-threatening disorder. According to the DSM 5, the typical diagnostic symptoms of anorexia nervosa are: dramatic weight loss leading to significant low body weight for the individuals age, sex, and health; preoccupation with weight; restriction of food, calories and fat; constant dieting; feeling “fat” or overweight despite weight loss and fear about gaining weight or being “fat.” Many individuals with anorexia nervosa deny feeling hungry and often avoid eating meals with others, resulting in withdrawal from usual friends and activities

“Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by self-starvation to avoid obesity. People with this disorder believe they are overweight, even when their bodies become grotesquely distorted by malnourishment.” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia)

Healthy eating has been on the lips of everybody, at the end of the day, we all want to take care of ourselves and live without worrying about our body. Therefore, living a heathy lifestyle is undoubtedly, a culture that is liked by many people. However, there are a rising trend of people taking this to an extreme by turning their obsession with healthy eating to an addiction, and it is ironically leading them to an unhealthy lifestyle (Orthorexia. 2011).

The human race is obsessed with perfection. Different forms of media filled with rhetoric force human beings to have a certain expectations for themselves. These expectations can be unrealistic and impossible to obtain. Human beings have been known to go to extreme lengths and basically force their body to shape a certain way. This is unhealthy. Even if someone needs to lose some extra pounds there is a correct way to do so. However, there are also ways to lose weight that do not benefit the overall health of one’s body. In a human’s search for perfection mental and physical disorders can form. Generally when thinking about eating disorders one will think of anorexia or bulimia. These eating disorders are