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VOLUME 11 , ISSUE 2 ( May-Aug, 2018 ) > List of Articles

REVIEW ARTICLE

Orthorexia: The Dirty Downside of Clean Eating

Jayasri J

Keywords : Orthorexia and Obsession with Unhealthy foods

Citation Information : J J. Orthorexia: The Dirty Downside of Clean Eating. 2018; 11 (2):55-58.

DOI: 10.5005/pjn-11-2-55

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 01-12-2012

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2017; The Author(s).


Abstract

Orthorexia nervosa is one of the eating disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with eating healthy food. The direct cause of orthorexia is unknown. Risk Factors for Orthorexia are history of dieting, Low self-esteem, Depression, Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The main feature of orthorexia is a drive for purity, Weight loss, Malnutrition, Low selfesteem, negative body image. Warning Signs of Orthorexia are Fixation on food quality and purity, rigid segmentation of “healthy” and “unhealthy” foods, highly inflexible eating patterns, Heavy focus on organic, pure and/or raw foods. Treatment includes Psychotherapy, neurofeedback, medication, Exposure and response prevention, Therapies and Hypnosis. Complications include Lowered immune system, Problems with cognition, Osteoporosis, Kidney Failure and Infertility.


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