When I saw this headline on the Internet, I had to investigate. What are these new disorders and what are the warning signs that someone you love might be afflicted?
The disorders are called selective adult eating and orthorexia. Now, if you’ve guessed that selective adult eating amounts to adults acting like small children and being finicky eaters, you’d be right – kinda. (Suffers are sometimes referred to as “adult picky eaters.”) The difference comes in the fact that kids generally don’t have as refined a palate as adults. When a five-year-old only wants to eat chicken nuggets, it’s because that food tastes best to their unworldly taste buds. When adults eat only foods that are bland or have the same texture or are white/ pale in color, it borders on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Same goes for orthorexia which means “correct eating” in Latin. Someone suffering from orthorexia will eat only foods thought to be healthy. Sounds good, right? Wrong. Adults with orthorexia might start by cutting out all processed foods (Yea!) and end up consuming only raw broccoli and cauliflower (Boo!) Orthorexia might also be a stepping stone to the grand pu-bah of eating disorders, anorexia nervosa.
In either case, severely limiting your food choices can lead to very dangerous vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Both disorders are thought to be an extension of OCD behavior and possibly even anxiety. Besides the health consequences, adults who suffer from either of these afflictions are also social isolated. They avoid going out with friends and family for fear of having their bizarre eating habits discovered.
So, what can you do? If you think someone you know has adult selective eating or orthorexia, encourage/cajole/threaten, until they get professional help. The underlining cause of their OCD/anxiety behavior will have to be addressed before they can truly be on the road to recovery. Be supportive and loving, but not fooled. These behaviors didn’t happen overnight so neither will the remedies.
As always, if you have any questions, you can email me at lynda@lyndabailey.net
Enjoy your week!
