Could the obsession to eat 'healthy' be an eating disorder? What to know about orthorexia nervosa
As featured on Cnalifestyle / Jul 24 2023 / Written by Khoo Bee Khim
If you won’t eat unless the food is organic, GMO-free and has no carbs, additives, preservatives, artificial sugar or sodium – to the point of affecting your relationships and social life – you’re not just being picky.
Imagine someone who eats nothing but plain, frozen yoghurt for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day. The motivation to stick to this perceived “healthy” and “complete” food is so strong that even holiday destinations are based on the availability of frozen yoghurt.
Or the workout buddy who is so fussy about the fat, sodium and sugar contents of his meals that he will never touch fast food or bubble tea – and openly judges you if you do. Online order instructions from him are so long (“sauce on the side, less salt and sugar, no fried shallots, kopi peng gau siew dai”), you run out of character space.
While it is one thing for the health-conscious or fitspo crowd to be fastidious about their diet (you don’t want to undo all the gains that you’ve worked so hard for, do you?), it is quite another to restrict food to such an extent.
In fact, the preoccupation with eating only what one perceives as healthy food is an eating condition known as orthorexia nervosa, said Dr Tay Yi Hang, an associate consultant in psychological medicine at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
“In milder cases, the individual may spend a huge amount of time and effort sourcing for and purchasing the food, or planning and preparing the meals,” said Dr Tay. “This all-consuming obsession may interfere significantly with his academic or vocational performance, or it could affect his social life.”
Unlike the better-known eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, “there is currently no published data on the incidence or prevalence of orthorexia nervosa in Singapore”, said Dr Tay.
The reason for this is “likely because orthorexia nervosa is yet to be classified as a formal psychiatric diagnosis” internationally, said Dr Zheng Zhimin, a consultant psychiatrist with Nobel Psychological Wellness Centre (Ang Mo Kio), a member of Healthway Medical Group.
Unlike the better-known eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, “there is currently no published data on the incidence or prevalence of orthorexia nervosa in Singapore”, said Dr Tay.
The reason for this is “likely because orthorexia nervosa is yet to be classified as a formal psychiatric diagnosis” internationally, said Dr Zheng Zhimin, a consultant psychiatrist with Nobel Psychological Wellness Centre (Ang Mo Kio), a member of Healthway Medical Group.
