People who obsessively restrict their diets to healthy foods are considered to be junkies who exhibit orthorexia nervosa, a term coined by Dr. Steven Bratman in a 1997 journal article.
In the article, Bratman defined orthorexia nervosa as a "pathological fixation on eating proper food." Bratman, who still lives in Colorado and is now working on a master's degree in public health, says that after the publication of the article, he was excoriated over the idea that healthy eating can take an unhealthy turn.[...]Ironically, it's sort of like being a Kool-Aid drinker despite Kool-Aid being the last thing a health food junkie would probably drink.
Bratman says he rarely talks about orthorexia nowadays, but the concept has lived on among health professionals who deal with eating disorders.
Although it is not an official diagnosis, the concept of orthorexia can be a useful way for health professionals to understand the perspective of a person whose once-appropriate idea of a proper diet may have crossed the line into disordered eating.
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