Orthorexia nervosa - the border between healthy eating and eating disorders.

Abstract

The term orthorexia nervosa (ON), presented in 1997 in Yoga Journal by Dr. Steven Bratman, sheds new light on the viewon healthy eating habits. He showed that persistent thinking about nutrition does not necessarily have to be associatedwith anorexia or bulimia, and may turn into something so far unknown - obsessive control over the healthiest eatingstyle, resulting in numerous self-imposed restrictions and in the long run, without appropriate therapy, leading to thedeterioration of the current state of health. Orthorexia can have many consequences not only on mental health, but also onphysical health. For this reason, the development of standard diagnostic and classification criteria for orthorexia nervosa isa priority. The problem of eating disorders should be the subject of epidemiological research, which will take into accountdemographic, cultural and socio-economic conditions appropriate for a given population, and will also take into accountthe pressure of factors related to the food market.