Orthorexia nervosa

Orthorexia nervosa, also called orthorexia, is a proposed eating disorder marked 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 meant to promote health can backfire, leading to social isolation, anxiety, loss of the ability to eat intuitively, reduced interest in other healthy activities and, rarely, severe malnutrition or death. Unlike anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, which center on the quantity of food eaten, the focus here is the perceived purity and quality of food. Studies report no significant difference between men and women, and positive correlations with narcissism and perfectionism but none with self-esteem. It is not an official diagnosis in the DSM-IV, DSM-5, ICD-10 or ICD-11. Because it overlaps strongly with other conditions, some argue affected people should instead be diagnosed with another restrictive eating disorder.