Being overweight as well as underweight can have many adverse health effects on an individual. Now, it seems that having a fixation with only eating healthy foodstuffs may also be risky to one’s over all health and well-being.
Unlike over-eating and anorexia nervosa (persistent loss of appetite), orthorexia nervosa is a condition which includes a strong focus on consuming only healthy foodstuffs. Now you’ll say what’s wrong with eating healthy? Well, eating only healthy food items may be beneficial from one perspective, but if this fixation becomes extreme then it could lead to malnutrition and may be even death.
The term, “orthorexia nervosa†has apparently been coined by Steven Bratman, MD, Colorado. Evidently, people with this condition may avoid the intake of foodstuffs containing preservatives, fats, animal products or other things which they consider to be unhealthy. Therefore an imbalance in this dietary system could lead to malnutrition in such people. Apart from that, there may be many underlying health problems like headache, nausea, lack of energy, loss of muscle tone, excessive weight loss, etc.
People with orthorexia nervosa may most often even have to face mental problems apart from the physical ones. They may feel socially isolated because of their lack of indulgence in the different kinds of foodstuffs.
Although monitoring one’s diet is considered to be essential for maintaining a healthy being, it is also very crucial to draw the line somewhere. Moderation is believed to be the key to a healthy being.