Orthorexia Nervosa

The world of today is a world dominated by social media. Statistics show that social media use is at an all-time high and continues to go up. This can have downsides, particularly with its involvement in mental distress and the rise in depression and eating disorders such as Orthorexia Nervosa. Orthorexia Nervosa is a proposed eating disorder characterized by an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy foods (Petre, 2020), so much so that it disrupts an individual’s daily life. Unlike other eating disorders that focus on the quantity of food, Orthorexia Nervosa focuses on the quality of food, foods that are deemed by the individual to be healthy.

With the current craze surrounding healthier living, one might wonder how a healthier lifestyle could be harmful. The issue Orthorexia Nervosa poses is the unhealthy obsession with healthy food, resulting in not just the physical and psychological effects, but also negative social impacts. A study by Simpson and Mazzeo (2017) revealed that individuals with Orthorexia Nervosa are viewed to be less likely to stop their unhealthy obsession with healthy food, difficult to interact with, and have behaviors that are likely to elicit negative reactions. These perceptions might result in social isolation because friends might avoid them because they have to adhere to a strict diet and cannot socialise over a meal at a restaurant; or they might avoid social gatherings to stick to their meal plans, often involving a specific time to consume their meals (Petre, 2020). Individuals with Orthorexia Nervosa also experience significant guilt and shameful feelings whenever they accidentally slip up their healthy and overly restrictive diet (Scarff, 2017).

Where does social media fit in? High usage of social media sites, particularly Instagram, is linked to higher prevalence of Orthorexia symptoms (Turner & Lefevre, 2017). Why? The Social Comparison Theory, proposed in 1954 by Leon Festinger, states that we compare ourselves with the world around us, whether it is through the lens of our own eyes or through social media (Cherry, 2020). Instagram is one such platform where users promote healthy lifestyles. In the quest to imitate the lives of online personas, people can quickly fall into the trap of taking it too far and developing eating disorders or even depression.

In conclusion, just like all things good for the body, healthy eating should also be done in moderation, with a scoop of ice-cream or other indulgent foods every now and then to maintain a healthy balance. To help prevent Orthorexia Nervosa, government agencies and media companies should be mindful of the content they put out to raise awareness about healthy living as even being healthy can become unhealthy if taken too far.

REFERENCES:

1. Cherry, K. (2020, September 20). How social comparison theory influences our views on ourselves. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-social-comparison-process-2795872.

2. Petre, A. (2020, April 2). What to know about Orthorexia. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/orthorexia-nervosa-101#what-is-orthorexia.

3. Scarff J. R. (2017). Orthorexia Nervosa: An Obsession With Healthy Eating. Federal practitioner:For the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS, 34(6), 36–39.

4. Simpson, C. C., & Mazzeo, S. E. (2017). Attitudes toward orthorexia nervosa relative to DSM-5 eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(7), 781–792. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22710

5. Turner, P. G., & Lefevre, C. E. (2017). Instagram use is linked to increased symptoms of orthorexia nervosa. Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 22, 277–284. http://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0364-2