Eating disorders are no longer limited to adolescence. Research has found that a growing group of middle-aged women continue to struggle with unhealthy eating patterns. For these women the syndromes that may have plagued them as teenagers — anorexia nervosa and bulimia — are still a threat, but there is another eating disorder that stems specifically from the minds of older women.

Orthoexia nervosa or “a fixation on righteous eating” is becoming more and more common in middle-aged women. Orthoexia is an obsession with healthy eating that spins out of control. A clinical supervisor at the Renfrew Center's Thirty-Something and Beyond Group, an inpatient eating disorders program, links orthoexia to women who are going through a life crisis, which can be as severe as a cancer diagnosis or as mild as a common fear of mortality.

Steven Bratman, M.D. coined the term “orthoexia nervosa” and is thorough in his explanation of the difference between a health food nut and someone who is struggling with the disorder. “Obsession with healthy food can progress to the point where it crowds out other activities and interests, impairs relationships, and even becomes physically dangerous,” he explains on his web site.

Bratman's book, Health Food Junkies: Orthorexia Nervosa: Overcoming the Obsession with Healthful Eating delves into the psychology behind the condition and offers advice for reestablishing a healthy relationship with food.

[via Alternative Medicine Magazine]

(Photo: Centra.ie)