Orthorexia: Understanding the obsession with healthy eating

The importance of healthy eating A healthy diet is essential for the health of body and mind. In addition to preventing diseases, a balanced diet improves quality of life and disposition.

However, it is important to be careful not to develop eating disorders, such as Orthorexia, which occurs when a person seeks an excessively healthy diet.

Expert Alerts on Orthorexia. Orthorexia is an increasingly common problem, mainly affecting teenagers and young adults between 16 and 25 years old. These people restrict their food, social life and family life, believing that only a specific type of food is beneficial for health.

This eating behavior starts out as a gradual change, but over time it becomes excessive and pathological. It may also be related to vigorexia, in which the focus is exclusively on physical care and body size.

While it's good to be physically active and eat healthy, when it becomes an obsession, it becomes a problem.

Origin and characteristics of Orthorexia Orthorexia is a form of restrictive avoidant eating disorder, which has been described for decades, mainly in children with autism spectrum disorder. Initially, it was characterized by food selectivity due to physical characteristics such as texture, color and flavor of food.

Over the years, this disorder has evolved and started to be influenced by standards imposed by society and social media.

The word "ortho" means "correct" in Greek, and "rexis" means "appetite". Therefore, Orthorexia means "correct appetite". Records on Orthorexia as a possible pathological disorder date back to the 1990s.