Psychiatria pre prax 3/2016

Orthorexia – a latter-day phenomenon?

Orthorexia nervosa describes a pathological obsession with proper nutrition that is characterized by a restrictive diet, and rigid avoidance of ,,unhealthy or impure foods”. Despite of the rise of orthorexia is accompanied with desire to achieve optimum health, orthorexia may lead to nutritional deficiencies, medical complications, and poor quality of life. Orthorexia symptoms are serious, chronic, and go beyond only a lifestyle choice. However orthorexia is frequently observed, is not yet formally recognized as a psychiatric disorder. This paper is a complex review of history, symptoms, diffrential diagnostics, and therapy of orthorexia.

Keywords: orthorexia, dianostics, differential diagnostics, prevalence, therapy