Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Bulimia, Anorexia, and..........picky eating??

Okay, so we all know about bulimia and anorexia, and they are crippling, horrid illnesses. But have you heard of Adult Selective Eating or ORTHOREXIA? JAMA is actually recognizing "extreme picky eaters" as an eating disorder, and categorizing those who increasingly restrict their diet to pure, natural foods.

Not sure how I feel about that. What are your thoughts? Do these individuals hide their "illness" from family and friends, do they need an intervention? Are we seriously comparing these behaviors to life-threatening illnesses?

I dunno, sounds a little like excessive labeling. Have you heard of this?

I'm off to eat my organic broccoli now......


Source:New Eating Disorders: Are They For Real?

7 comments:

  1. I probably fall under that category. I eat a very limited range of foods and need to stick to my regimented way of eating for fear that I'll get fat again. I would love to be free of this monkey on my back.

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  2. Tabitha, thank you for your comment! I think that's a completely normal feeling, indeed. It's understandable to want to maintain your progress, and I worry about labeling that behavior as an "eating disorder." I think we should praise efforts to move us toward a less-obese country! Hugs!

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  3. Orthorexia? Really, we are calling healthy eating a disorder? Oh my gosh I might have a disorder, I'm a vegetarian who likes raw foods!

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  4. I think you post on something interesting, but I would just note that when a peer reviewed journal such as JAMA publishes a scientific paper they are not endorsing the findings, those remain the opinions of the authors. Certainly of course when they are published in a widely circulated journal this helps a term or condition gain recognition, but that is different than endorsement. In fact, the only thing published in JAMA on orthorexia (which was linked in the article you review to) was in 2001 and was actually a book review http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/285/17/2255.2.full?sid=3cedd7f4-936f-4fe4-abff-cd1cbdf83d11
    not a scientific paper.

    I agree that there are a spectrum of disorders. Interesting blog :)

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  5. Mechelle, thank you for your comment! I agree--perhaps a little excessive!

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  6. Minnie, great point! Thank you for bringing attention to the purpose of Journals-great for information sharing, but read into it what you will.

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  7. Umm.... perhaps we should only be worried about those who restrict their diet to processed TV dinners, chips, and soda...

    :- )

    Cheers.
    Gina

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