Bila Tserkva
Addresses of the Clinics
Monday-Sunday 08:30 - 20:00
Monday-Sunday 08:30 - 20:00
Kyiv, 17 Kovpaka St. (On the map)
Bila Tserkva, 191A Tarashchanska St. (On the map)
When following the principles of healthy eating becomes an obsession, it may be a sign of an eating disorder called orthorexia. What are the causes, symptoms and consequences of this condition, and how can it be avoided without harming your health?
Are you or someone close to you preoccupied with the principles of "right" eating? Has the choice of foods become very limited, with attention paid only to how healthy they are rather than how they taste? The appearance of eating disorders always calls for professional help. For qualified help with orthorexia, you can contact CSM Clinic, where advanced and proprietary approaches are used to treat eating disorders.
Orthorexia is an eating disorder characterized by an obsessive pursuit of healthy eating principles. With this eating disorder, food choices become significantly restricted, and a person is guided not by taste preferences but solely by how healthy a food is considered to be. Excessive restrictions can harm physical and mental health and limit a person's social life.
Nervous orthorexia develops against a background of low self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence. It may appear on its own or as part of a broader drive for a healthy lifestyle that includes keeping to a strict daily routine, exercising, hardening and mental techniques.
Specialists distinguish the following causes of orthorexia:
Orthorexia develops in a way similar to anorexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and hypochondria. The main underlying factors are heightened nervous tension and anxiety, excessive self-control, low self-esteem, and dependence on the opinions and approval of others.
Choosing and preparing food according to strict rules leads to rituals that are calming and give a sense of control over the situation. In addition, effort, willpower, determination and discipline show others strong qualities and raise self-esteem.
A description of the signs helps to understand what orthorexia is. The signs of the disorder appear gradually, and over time there are more of them.
The main symptom of orthorexia is choosing only "healthy" food without regard for one's own taste preferences or desires. A person carefully evaluates the composition of foods, the methods of preparing them and the rules for combining them. Patients usually remove from the menu, or limit, milk, meat, salt, fats, starch, alcohol, refined sugar, yeast, gluten, GMOs, and synthetic dyes, preservatives and flavorings. Orthorexia leads to a particular eating system that is not always sound but, in the patient's view, improves and protects health.
One of the typical symptoms of orthorexia is rigid categorical thinking that divides foods into healthy/allowed and harmful/forbidden. Psychological tension arises from the frequent conflict between the wish to eat something tasty but "dangerous" and the need to follow one's own rules and principles.
"Harmful" foods lead to the formation of phobias, and patients stop going to visit friends, cafes and restaurants. When rules are broken and a person eats a tasty dish, feelings of guilt and self-blame appear. Irritation and aggression toward oneself lead to a kind of punishment, such as intensified workouts, an even stricter diet or periods of fasting.
Restrictions and rules often concern not only the choice of food but also the ways of preparing it. Patients are fastidious in choosing cooking equipment and cookware, strictly follow baking or boiling times, and refuse freezing, frying or any other heat treatment. Buying, storing and preparing food, planning the daily menu and setting the table become calming rituals. When trying to eat in situations where it is impossible to control how a dish is made or what it contains, anxiety and panic arise. There is no critical view of one's own eating behavior.
People with orthorexia like to talk about cooking. They try to explain the importance of "right" eating to those around them, give recommendations and consider themselves experts. If someone does not follow a structured diet, the person with orthorexia treats them with contempt or judgment. Disagreements lead to misunderstanding and a significant reduction in social activity.
The main cause of orthorexia in children under 11–12 years old is a particular eating principle imposed by parents. The child cannot choose foods independently and becomes dependent on adults. In such cases, working with the parents is often essential.
The nature of the causes and signs of orthorexia in teenagers is the same as in adults. Hormonal changes and surges strengthen the wish to match imposed beauty ideals, and many girls begin to follow healthy eating rules obsessively to achieve slimness or healthy skin. Ideas about what is "rational" in food choices are often mistaken, and excessive restrictions can harm health. The principles of treating orthorexia in teenagers are the same as in adults.
Long-term restriction of food choices, an incorrect approach to planning the diet and a lack of treatment can lead to the following consequences of orthorexia:
To diagnose orthorexia, a clinical interview with a psychiatrist or psychologist is held. The specialist carefully studies eating behavior and asks additional questions, because patients with this disorder rarely see their way of eating as a problem. During the interview, the doctor learns about personality traits, the level of neuroticism and the risk of developing depression, hypochondria and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
To diagnose the disorder, an orthorexia test (the ORTO questionnaire, Bratman) is used, along with projective methods and questionnaires (Leonhard-Schmieschek, PDQ and others). Test results help to identify the disorder, assess its severity and create a treatment plan tailored to the patient.
The final stage of diagnosis is identifying the consequences of the eating disorder. For this, laboratory tests, an ultrasound of the internal organs, an electrocardiogram and other tests may be ordered. If necessary, consultations with an endocrinologist, a cardiologist, a neurologist and other specialists are arranged.
To overcome the disorder, the patient needs to recognize that a preoccupation with a healthy lifestyle or "right" eating has become obsessive and interferes with normal life. Psychologists, psychiatrists and dietitians work with the patient.
Comprehensive treatment of orthorexia includes several methods:
At CSM Clinic, patients can take a course based on the proprietary method of Valerii Patonich, a specialist in treating eating disorders. The Fisiotherapy program was previously delivered in Revocanda plus psychological centers. The method aims to help reduce the symptoms of orthorexia and to work toward lasting improvement.
During the program, each patient is assigned a personal consultant who provides the support needed.
For rehabilitation, a course of treatment is provided for any internal-organ conditions that were identified. Therapy is prescribed by the relevant specialists.
Working with a psychologist is important to address problems related to socialization. The patient is helped to rebuild their circle of interests, improve relationships with loved ones and maintain a healthy attitude toward food.
The length of rehabilitation depends on the consequences of the eating disorder.
To prevent orthorexia, it is important to:
Do you need a specialist to treat eating disorders? Contact CSM Clinic by calling the number provided or by filling in the online booking form or callback request. Contact center operators will get in touch with you quickly, answer all your questions about orthorexia and book an appointment with the right specialist at a convenient time.
