Health Food Obsessions
Orthorexia Nervosa is a Healthy Eating Disorder
Dr Steven Bratman calls them health food junkies. People with orthorexia nervosa are obsessed with eating health foods. Orthorexia nervosa is an eating disorder.
"Healthy eating disorders" occur when eating nutritiously becomes a harmful obsession with health foods, says Dr. Steven Bratman, author of Health Food Junkies. Orthorexia nervosa isn't an eating disorder listed on the DSM-IV; in fact, some medical professionals say orthorexia nervosa isn't indicative of a psychological disorder at all. They say there's no such thing as a healthy eating disorder, nor can people have health food obsessions.
Other professionals who have counseled clients struggling with health food obsessions have a different perspective. It's obsessive compulsive when people are obsessed with health foods. Their relationships suffer and their health deteriorates because they eat only certain foods in an attempt to stay pure in their eating habits. Dr Bratman has personal and professional experience with health food junkies, which is why he believes that health food obsessions should be taken seriously.
Determining health food obsessions or orthorexia nervosa
It may be simple to determine if you're struggling with a healthy eating disorder or health food obsession. Dr Bratman created an orthorexia nervosa quiz to help people decide if they're obsessed with health foods or just healthy eaters. Dr Bratman also asks a few preliminary questions about lifestyle and health food obsessions.
Questions that clarify health food obsessions
- Is your weight so low, people think you have anorexia nervosa?
- Can you imagine going through a whole day without paying attention to your diet.
- Can you just live and love and not worry about what you eat?
- Has your diet made you socially isolated?
If your answers are "yes", you may have a health food obsession or orthorexia nervosa. According to Dr Bratman, you're a health food junkie.
If you're still not sure, the following quiz may help further clarify a health food obsession.
Orthorexia nervosa quiz, to determine health food obsessions
This quiz is from Dr Bratman's book Health Food Junkies. The 10 questions will help you determine if you're obsessed with health foods.
Score 1 point for each "yes".
- Do you spend more than 3 hours a day thinking about healthy food? (For 4 hours, give yourself 2 points).
- Do you plan tomorrow's food today?
- Do you care more about the virture of what you eat than the pleasure you receive from eating it?
- Have you found that as the quality of your diet has increased, the quality of your life has correspondingly diminished?
- Do you keep getting stricter with yourself?
- Do you sacrifice experiences you once enjoyed to eat the food you believe is right?
- Do you feel an increased sense of self-esteem when you are eating healthy food? Do you look down on others who do not?
- Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet?
- Does your diet socially isolate you from others?
- When you are eating the way you are supposed to, do you feel a peaceful sense of total control?
If you answered yes to two or three questions, Dr Bratman says you have at least a touch of orthorexia nervosa or health food obsession. If you have a score of four or more, you may be struggling with a healthy eating disorder.
Coping with health food obsessions
If you're seriously struggling with a health food obsession or think you have orthorexia nervosa, talk to your doctor or counselor. Orthorexia nervosa can become as unhealthy as anorexia nervosa or bulimia.
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