Research Paper On Orthorexia Nervosa

Keeping in mind that she has always strove for perfection, some irrational thoughts and psychological symptoms have developed concerning her standards for both food consumption and weight. These irrational fears have led her to believe that food is bad, and since she is terribly scared of getting fat, she finds fulfillment by abiding by her restrictive diet and maintaining her abnormal weight by restricting food and using laxatives when necessary to avoid weight gain. It’s easy to see that Joan has developed an obsession with both food and her weight that has taken over her life. All of these psychological symptoms have also caused some social symptoms which have negatively impacted her relationships, mainly stemming from concern of friends and family which usually result in arguments about eating. Joan’s physiological systems are also reflecting concerning symptoms such as dry, inelastic skin, liver problems, unhealthy hair, dizziness, amenorrhea, and of course, excessive

Marya Hornbacher had a tough life since she was a little girl, at just the age of nine she was bulimic, and by the time she was fifteen she was anorexic. She has been hospitalized, institutionalized, and in endless sessions of therapy. Her eating disorder not only destroyed her teenage years, but it also destroyed her childhood because from the early age she had a bad relationship with food. She began dieting when she was five because she wanted to be as thin as her mother. No one told her or taught her about bulimia, she found out on her own about how to get rid of the food. She continue to suffer with bulimia until she went to boarding school in 10th grade where she became anorexic,which caused her to be hospitalized. Her family was worried

Being obsessed with weight, people with anorexia nervosa tend to weigh themselves repeatedly, portion food and eat very small quantities are certain foods – no fats, no carbs, no sugars (Pinel, 2011). Just like with drugs, some people get better after one bout of anorexia nervosa, while some relapse and some, unfortunately, lose the battle as their health declines.

Eating disorders are diseases in which people have an unhealthy relationship with their food, and negative image reflecting how their body looks, such as, the fear of gaining weight. This type of body dysmorphia can lead to damaging eating habits, such as; starvation, purging, and even binging. Furthermore, there are numerous eating disorders recognized today, the most common being binge disorder, causing the affected person to eat far too much and experience pain, discomfort, and irritable bowel symptoms, bulimia which causes the affected person to purge their food through vomiting, and one of the most common eating disorders -- anorexia nervosa. (Eating Disorders, 2008) Many of these disorders can be treated in multiple ways, the most common way is through counselling with a social worker, the social worker helps develop a treatment plan for the client and aids them in their recovery.

The most well-known eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorder, but new diagnoses are emerging such as orthorexia nervosa. Anorexia is characterized by an overwhelming fear of gaining weight, an obsession with weight in general, and involves a

It is often driven by a desire to optimize health by restricting food intake and avoiding certain food. Orthorexic individual could potentially have psychosocial issues correspondingly. Chronic worry regarding imperfect health, sense of guilt and self-hatred when the ‘wrong’ type of food is taken, excessive frustration when their diet or food practices is disrupted are often reported. These behaviors are likely to encourage the development of stricter diet or urge to self-punishment. Orthorexic individuals and anorexia individuals share some common features, high need to exert control, high trait anxiety and perfectionism. Both would treat their ability to follow their choice of diet as a sign of self-discipline and an achievement. However, orthorexic individuals are more likely to show off their eating habits and value themselves of superiority. They are at a higher risk of social isolation due to their behavior and belief to stay in complete control of their surroundings (Koven, & Abry,

Media success has always been based on the exploitation of the rare or controversial. Magazines, television, and documentaries always seem to focus on unusual situations or the belittling of an individual’s habits. No one is to blame, however exploiting people and their unhealthy choices should be frowned upon, but society thrives off of the “unknown” and “lesser-seen”. Eating abnormalities seem to have become the newest trend, putting teen pregnancy and drug abuse on the backburner. Shows seem to focus solely on health implications caused by overeating, not eating, or eating foreign objects. Has the media's constant infatuation with the irregular led society to become desensitized to these outlandish topics, or has society begun to

The article “Orthorexia: When Healthy Eating Becomes an Obsession” which is written by Sarah Elizabeth Richards, talks about what Orthorexia is and how it develops. It also talks about how the affected person feels towards himself/herself and shows how difficult it is to distinguish between eating healthy and eating obsessively while ending the article with indicators that reveal if someone is

While obesity is an epidemic sweeping the nation, Orthorexia Nervosa is sweeping in. In 1997, Doctor Steven Bratman wrote an article in the 1997 issue of Yoga Journal (http://www.orthorexia.com/original-orthorexia-essay/) on a new term he introduced as ‘Orthorexia.’ Orthorexia is the unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food (Bratman S. 1996.) Not to be confused with anorexia, orthorexia does not base itself upon the idea of unhealthy restriction, but instead health and purity. Orthorexia is a relatively new disorder than compared to its similar counterparts; bulimia, anorexia, and binge-eating disorder. The health industry has created a new sense of fear in the western world, a fear of the unhealthy.

Since orthorexia nervosa is fairly knew to the medical world and not yet classified in the DSM-V limited treatments were available to the general public upon researching. But based on common characteristics it has with anorexia nervosa and bulimia one can follow similar patterns to treatments plans for those types. It also should be noted to seek professional help and for one not to completely assume they have a disordered eating especially with orthorexia nervosa. In order for one to recover from any disordered eating's they must acknowledge that they have a health problem. The National Eating Disorder Association has a website that provides great information and resources covering the wide range of eating disorders. In particular, if one

Thousands of people in this world struggle with eating disorders. “Gina battled bulimia for seven years—struggling on her own in secret—before she finally opened up to her mother. Gina wrote her a long letter explaining her shame and embarrassment, and gave her mother a book about how to deal with someone with an eating disorder,” (“Eating Disorder Treatment and Recovery”). This is a big problem all around the world, but it can be solved. To help people with eating disorders around the world people need to work together to educate people, motivate them to change, and to create a healthy body image.

(Phelps & Bajorek, 1991). Sir William Gull was one of the first to publish a case on the discovery of anorexia nervosa in 1873 (Botha, 2010). Anorexia nervosa is an intense fear of gaining weight (Phelps & Bajorek, 1991). Most anorexics may look in the mirror and see themselves overweight. They respond to the thought of being fat by starving themselves in hopes of losing weight and getting thinner. With the hopes of losing weight and getting thinner, anorexics will become obsessed with controlling their weight by weighing themselves multiples times throughout the span of the day. ( Phelps & Bajorek, 1991).

Eating disorders are severe disturbances in eating behaviors, such as eating too little or eating too much. “Anorexia nervosa affects nearly one in 200 Americans in their lives (three-quarters of them female)” (Treating anorexia nervosa). Anorexia, when translated into Greek means “without appetite” which is not true for all suffering from anorexia most people with this disorder have not lost their appetite they simply have to ignore it. People with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight and have convinced themselves that they are overweight even if they are the opposite of overweight. Since the way that they view themselves is in a negative light they starve themselves and put their lives at risk. “In the most severe

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

Although orthorexia nervosa is not an eating disorder that many people are aware of, it is