Environmental News Network - When Does Clean Eating Become an Unhealthy Obsession? New Findings on Who Is at Risk

Details: By York University; 14.May

Researchers at York University’s Faculty of Health say those who have a history of an eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive traits, dieting, poor body image, and a drive for thinness are more likely to develop a pathological obsession with healthy eating or consuming only healthy food, known as orthorexia nervosa (ON).

Mohammad Munshed

Researchers at York University’s Faculty of Health say those who have a history of an eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive traits, dieting, poor body image, and a drive for thinness are more likely to develop a pathological obsession with healthy eating or consuming only healthy food, known as orthorexia nervosa (ON). Although eating healthy is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, for some people this preoccupation with healthy eating can become physically and socially impairing.

In the first exhaustive review of the psychosocial risk factors associated with orthorexia nervosa, York University psychology researchers examined all studies published up until the end of 2018 in two popular databases. They looked at studies that examined how orthorexia nervosa is related to psychosocial risk factors that predisposed or made an individual vulnerable to or more likely to develop the condition. They then amalgamated all available findings for each risk factor to reach conclusions about which psychosocial factors were most reliably associated with the condition.

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When Does Clean Eating Become an Unhealthy Obsession? New Findings on Who Is at Risk