Those with orthotics are totally inclined to healthy eating, completely devoid of fat and sweet guilt, and adhere to strict rules in their dietary behavior.
Usually these rules are so strict that their joy in living is directly affected. Because, for most people, eating is not just about eating.
Food is also fun, enjoy the joy of life. For example, when you taste a piece of cream pie, a juicy roast pork, or a bag of chips.
However, there are people who categorically refuse these fat-rich sweets. Your meal plan consists exclusively of foods that are considered healthy. This type of eating behavior is called orthorexia.
The word “orthorexia” comes from the Greek, and its translation means something like “correct appetite.” Practically everyone who develops this eating behavior is obsessed with eating whole foods and organic products.
At the same time, these people completely avoid foods rich in sugars or fats, or foods with artificial ingredients. “Collective eating behavior is compulsive, organized, and planned,” says nutrition consultant Elke Binder.
Behind this behavior does not necessarily hide the desire to maintain or lose body weight. Those who follow a healthy diet without compromise often hope to prevent the diseases of civilization in this way.
“Women tend to indulge in orthotics more than men,” says President of the German Society of Dietetics (BDEM) Professor Johannes Georg Fischler.
According to Lochsler, women tend to be affected a lot. This may have something to do with the beauty parables that are being spread through social media and advertisements. In the event that these advertisements are followed, the woman should be completely lean and fit.
“But the eating behavior of young adults who are very active in sports is now taking orthodontic overtones,” explains Elk Binder.
Affected people often lack confidence in their bodies. Performance stress and strong self-control can also promote orthotics.
Orthorexia is quite skillfully developed. “Often those affected begin by making very carefully organized meal plans and formally controlling their implementation through an app,” Bender says.
In this way, affected people achieve tight control over food: everything revolves around healthy eating. They are often judged not to eat anything after a certain time.
And what happens if half a slice of the pie is eaten and the rules themselves are violated? In this case, orthopedists often feel guilt and mistakenly believe that they have harmed their body.
Osteoporosis can have various causes. Even when affected people often make healthy food choices, their intake can be one-sided. Orthorexia is usually accompanied by weight loss.
And, finally, it can happen that the orthosis partially loses the joy of life, because strict rules do not allow any permission to give it.
Orthorexia usually has effects on the environment: those affected are so convinced by their strict guidelines that those around them feel guilty for eating “unhealthily”. Orthotics are likely to turn down an invitation from their friends for pizza or fondue. Not all friendships can handle that.
However, orthorexia is not currently recognized as a disease. “The professional scientist debates whether orthotics have disease value,” Wechsler says.
From his point of view, it cannot be called an eating disorder or an addiction. Chances are that orthotics in its mildest form can turn into an “obsession” for the person in question, Wechsler says.
In these types of cases, help can come from someone who deals more flexibly with the subject of food. “It might be a partner or a good family doctor trying to get us out of those strict rules,” Wechsler says.
However, this is quite different when an orthopedist struggles with his or her own eating behavior or the subject of food becomes a real obsession.
Then psychotherapy can make sense, which looks at the reasons behind this eating behavior and helps to overcome it. The origin of Orthorexia can be in emotional fears and conflicts.
Therefore, it will be necessary to go to psychologists or psychotherapists who specialize in obsessive-compulsive behavior. “The sooner an acute orthotic help is available, the better for the affected person’s body,” says Elk Bender.
From a nutrition consultant’s point of view, it is possible to take preventive initiatives against orthotics. “The most important thing is that parents are role models for their children as well when it comes to nutrition,” stresses Elk Bender.
At the same time, parents should encourage their children not to carelessly imitate the beauty ideals they see in social media and advertising.
“Of course it’s about eating healthy and healthy food, but at the same time enjoying and enjoying the food,” says Bender. And there should be nothing stopping you from offering yourself a reward from time to time. Because in the end it brings fun, pleasure and joy of life.
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