Obsessing about Healthy Eating could be Problematic

Eating disorders have just taken an interesting twist. We all understand the concepts of anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating, and obsessive overeating, but did you know there are those with an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy?

Although the condition has recently been recognized as a new eating disorder, it is fast becoming a health concern for people with what has been coined “orthorexia nervosa.” The term means ortho means “right or correct” and the term orexis means appetite. Together, the term signifies a fixation on correct eating behaviors and was first identified by Dr. Steven Bratman who suffers from the disorder himself.  Bratman is a holistic physician practicing in Ft. Collins, Colorado, who is author of the book, Health Food Junkies, and “Alternative Medicine Sourcebook: A Realistic Evaluation of Alternative Healing Methods.”

Basically, these are individuals who have a preoccupation with healthy foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These are considered “good” foods. Everything else is classified as “bad.” Furthermore, if they happen to give in to something they deem unhealthy, perhaps a cup of coffee (caffeine), they self-punish with exceptionally stricter eating, fasts and exercise.

Who would think that eating healthy would pose health risks? The issue lies not in the foods they are eating, but in what they are not eating couple with what they are thinking. A very restrictive diet coupled with an obsession with food can lead to a lack of poor nutrient balance. In addition, it can lead to the consumption of far fewer calories than what would be needed for daily survival. The human body’s needs vary based on gender, age, weight and height. Once you determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR), you can determine how many calories you need if you simply slept all day. In general, those calories are about 1200 for women and 1800 for men. With orthorexia, a person could literally eat vegetables all day and not consume 500 calories. That puts the body at a dangerous risk for disease and sickness.

Recent scientific studies have found several common characteristics among those with this condition. They believe that being overweight is a sign of weakness, they disapprove of people who do not eat like they do, they believe the most people can be blamed for their own diseases for what they consume, and they spend a significant amount of time preparing their meals.

This type of behavior is not considered a weight loss type of regime. It is an intense phobia about eating only “pure” food. Anything else is off limits, permanently. What’s interesting about the characteristics of someone with orthorexia is that their food intake is far more important than their personal values, interpersonal relationships, careers, family, and friends. Therefore, besides the potential of consuming too few calories to survive, they have also placed themselves into social isolation because of it.

Psychiatrists have developed a test to determine a diagnosis. Many of the questions revolve around your thoughts and feelings about food, diet, and life in general. It seems to fine to be concerned about your dietary intake, most of us do. However, it is not healthy to be obsessed with it. Bratman stresses that a healthy diet and being concerned about your foods is not an issue. It only becomes an issue when you add the following:

1. it is taking up an inordinate amount of time and attention in your life
2. deviating from the diet causes extreme guilt and punishment
3. it causes you to avoid others and become socially isolated

Our world is consumed with the concept of “health” foods. We have low-fat, no-fat, low-carb, no sugar, caffeine-free, and so on. Couple that with the society’s fixation on being thin and it is very easy to fall victim to the orthorexia mindset, especially if you are already vulnerable through low self-esteem.

If you think you might be a victim on orthorexia nervosa, you might want to talk with your doctor or a psychologist about the condition.

 

Works used for this article:
Bratman, S. (1997). Health Food Junkie. Obsession with dietary perfection can sometimes do more harm than good, says one who has been there. Retrieved from http://www.beyondveg.com/bratman-s/hfj/hf-junkie-1a.shtml

Bratman, S. (2015). What is orthorexia? Retrieved from http://www.orthorexia.com/

Brytek-Matera, A. (2012). Orthorexia nervosa – an eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or disturbed eating habit? Archives of Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, 14(1), 55-60.

Collins, S. (2014). Approximately how many calories do you need to survive? Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/300423-approximately-many-calories-survive/

Kratina, K. (n.d.). Orthorexia nervosa. Retrieved from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/orthorexia-nervosa

Varga, M., Konkoly Thege, B., Dukay-Szabo, S., Tury, F., and van Furth, E. F. (2014). When eating healthy is not healthy: orthorexia nervosa and its measurement with the ORTO-15 in Hungary. BMC Psychiatry, 14(1), 1-23.

 

 

Smoking Bans Do Work - At Least in the US

In 2013, Time Magazine took a look at the smoking bans across the world to determine if they actually reduced smoking overall. Here’s a quick timeline of what they discovered:

• 2004: Ireland becomes the first country to ban smoking in the workplace. The following year, research discovered a 17% drop in respiratory issues throughout Ireland. SUCCESS!

• 2005: Italy banned smoking in all public places. Smoking rates dropped by about 4%, incidences of heart attacks decreased and cigarette sales dropped by 5.5%. SUCCESS!

• 2006: China made a move to reduce smoking for the Beijing Olympics. In 2011, a nationwide smoking ban in public places commenced. Reports found that 2012 smoking rates were 30% higher than in 1990. However, it is noted that more than one-third of the world’s smokers are Chinese. FAILURE!

• 2008: India banned smoking in the workplace with lawbreakers being charged a $4.50 fine. In 2013, reports claim that violations of the law are rampant. FAILURE!

• 2013: Russia banned smoking in most public venues and banned cigarette advertising from the streets. It’s too early to tell if the ban has been effective. The law is expected to reduce smoking by 15% by 2020. In fact, lawmakers in the country wanted to take it further by banning women under the age of 40 from smoking at all. That law did not pass. UNKNOWN.

Today, the United States does not have a nationwide smoking ban. The smoking laws are left to state and local governments. However, that doesn’t mean that the tobacco issue isn’t lying dormant at the federal level. In what public health officials consider their “Bible,” Healthy People 2020, the government has set forth 20 specific objectives to reduce the use of tobacco in the nation. So far, it seems to be working.

According to the Healthy People 2020 document, the proportion of smoking adults (ages 18 and older) dropped from 24% in 1997 to 18.2% in 2012. Furthermore, the percentage of youth smokers (grades 9-12) also dropped from 43.4% in 1997 to 22.4% in 2012.

The news gets even better: both children and nonsmoking adults who were exposed to second-hand smoke both dropped over the past five years. In fact, the reduction in exposure dipped below the original targeted numbers!

Also, the number of states with laws banning smoking in restaurants and at worksites increased from 2 in 2002 to 34 in 2013. Furthermore, the number of states banning smoking in bars went from 1 in 2002 to 28 in 2013. As of 2013, all but 14 states have banned smoking in at least one of three locations: private workplaces, restaurants or bars. Those 14 states with no statewide ban are California, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Connecticut and Missouri. It is important to note that individual cities and communities may have smoking bans.

In Pennsylvania, the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2008 prohibits smoking in only 1 location: public places or workplaces. The law does not prevent smoking in restaurants or bars – however, individual owners may have applied the law to their establishment. As you know, many of the restaurants and bars in Meadville are smoke-free – thanks to the health-mindedness of their owners. In addition, individual municipalities may have smoking bans. Check your local municipal laws for details on smoking bans.

So, do smoking bans help? Based on the numbers from the tobacco use tracking in the United States – it sure does.

As a result, we are all just a little healthier thanks to cleaner air and cleaner lungs.

 

Works used for this article:

Balmforth, T. (2014). No smoking in Russia? Tough new antitobacco rules come to the land of cigarettes. Retrieved from http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-new-antismoking-law-land-of-cigarettes/25438520.html

HealthyPeople.gov. (2015). Tobacco use. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/tobacco-use/national-snapshot

Katz, A. (2013). Do national smoking bans actually work? Retrieved from http://world.time.com/2013/06/03/do-national-smoking-bans-actually-work/