What is the Difference Between Anorexia and Orthorexia

Anorexia and orthorexia are two common eating disorders. They can share similar symptoms, such as restrictive eating, preoccupation with food, and rigid dietary practices. However, the underlying behaviors and attitudes about eating in these disorders are different.

The key difference between anorexia and orthorexia is their underlying cause. In anorexia, a person has an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image, an inability to maintain minimally normal body weight, and extreme dietary habits. But , in orthorexia, a person has an obsession with healthy eating and consuming only pure foods.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Anorexia 
3. What is Orthorexia
4. Similarities – Anorexia and Orthorexia
5. Anorexia vs Orthorexia in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Anorexia vs Orthorexia
7. FAQ – Anorexia and Orthorexia

What is Anorexia?

Anorexia is also called anorexia nervosa. People with this condition have a strong fear of gaining weight and may think they are overweight, even when they are thin. Hence, they follow extreme dieting habits to prevent weight gain.

The behavioral symptoms of anorexia include excessive exercise, fear of weight gain, a focus on appearance, concern about being overweight, emotional changes, and trouble sleeping. Physical symptoms include extreme weight loss, fatigue or weakness, dizziness, constipation, intolerance to colds, swelling of the arms or legs, tooth erosion, stomachaches, lack of hunger, difficulty concentrating, increased anxiety, and stress fractures. Moreover, anorexia can be caused by a mix of factors such as genetics, mental health, and environment.

Figure 01: Anorexia

Anorexia can be diagnosed through physical examination, complete blood count (CBC), mental health evaluation, and other studies such as X-rays and electrocardiograms. Furthermore, treatments for anorexia usually involve a combination of talking therapy, supervised weight gain, and maintaining proper hydration and electrolyte levels in the body.

What is Orthorexia?

Orthorexia (orthorexia nervosa) is a condition where a person has an unhealthy focus on eating in a healthy way. Normally, eating healthy, nutritious foods is good. In orthorexia, people obsess over healthy eating to the point that it harms their overall well-being.

Figure 02: Orthorexia

Symptoms of this condition include excessive concern about food quality, avoiding eating out or food prepared by others, fear of illness, showing physical signs of malnutrition, excessive research on food, refusing to eat a wide variety of foods, and being overly critical of both their own and others’ food choices in a harmful cycle. Orthorexia can be caused by biological factors (having a close relative), psychological factors, and social or cultural factors.

Orthorexia can be diagnosed through physical examination and mental health evaluation. Furthermore, treatment options for orthorexia include exposure and response prevention, behavioral modification, cognitive restructuring, and relaxation training, like breathing exercises, guided imagery, mindfulness meditation, yoga, and tai chi.

Similarities Between Anorexia and Orthorexia

1. Anorexia and orthorexia are two eating disorders.
2. Both conditions may be characterized by abnormal eating habits.
3. Both conditions can be diagnosed by physical examination and mental health evaluation.
4. They can be treated through specific therapies.

Difference Between Anorexia and Orthorexia

Definition

1. Anorexia is a condition characterized by food restriction, a distorted body image, fear of gaining weight, and a huge desire to be thin.
2. Orthorexia is a condition characterized by an excessive preoccupation with eating healthy or nutritious food.

Causes

1. Anorexia is caused by genetics, mental health factors (obsessive-compulsive personality), brain changes, trauma, peer pressure, and environmental factors (Modern Western culture).
2. Orthorexia is caused by biological factors (history of dieting), psychological factors (perfectionism), and social or cultural factors (being teased or bullied about weight by society).

Signs and Symptoms

1. The symptoms of anorexia are intense fear of weight gain, inability to realistically assess the body weight and shape, obsessive interest in food, fear of certain foods, being very self-critical, denying the seriousness of lower body weight or food restriction, and feeling a strong need to be in food control.
2. The symptoms of orthorexia are experiencing intense fear of unhealthy foods, having an obsession with healthy foods, being unable to deviate from a specific eating pattern, obsessively checking ingredient lists in the foods, cutting out a broad range of food groups, spending unusually large amounts of time on food research, and avoiding social events and foods prepared by others.

Diagnosis

1. Anorexia can be diagnosed through physical examination, lab tests like complete blood count (CBC), mental health evaluation, and other studies such as X-rays, electrocardiograms, urinalysis, bone density tests, kidney and liver function tests, and thyroid tests.
2. Orthorexia can be diagnosed through physical examination and mental health evaluation.

Treatment

1. The treatment options for anorexia are individual or group psychotherapy (talk therapy), taking antipsychotic medication like olanzapine, and hospitalization.
2. The treatment options for orthorexia are psychotherapy, gradual exposure and a reintroduction to trigger foods, behavioral modifications, cognitive reframing or restructuring, various forms of relaxation training, and weight restoration.

The following table summarizes what is the difference between anorexia and orthorexia.

Summary – Anorexia vs Orthorexia

Eating disorders are associated with overlapping symptoms. Anorexia and orthorexia are two eating disorders that share similar symptoms. However, anorexia is a condition where people avoid food, severely restrict food, or eat very small quantities of only certain foods due to fear of gaining weight even though they are thin, while orthorexia is a condition where people have an excessive obsession or preoccupation with eating healthy or nutritious food. This is the basic difference between anorexia and orthorexia.

FAQ: Anorexia and Orthorexia

1. What are the leading causes of anorexia?

• Anorexia nervosa can run in families, which suggests there may be a genetic cause. The other causes may include mental health factors, brain changes, trauma, peer pressure, and environmental factors.

2. What are the main symptoms of anorexia?

• The main symptoms of anorexia include intense fear of gaining weight, inability to realistically assess the body weight and shape, obsessive interest in food, calories, and dieting, and fear of certain foods or food groups.

3. What is the most successful treatment for anorexia?

• Talk therapy, which is also known as psychotherapy, is the best treatment for anorexia. It involves regularly seeing a psychologist or another mental health professional with specialized training in eating disorders. Other treatments are supervised weight gain and maintaining proper hydration and electrolyte levels in the body.

4. What is orthorexia caused by?

• Orthorexia is caused by biological factors such as having a close relative with an eating disorder, a history of dieting, or type I diabetes; psychological factors like perfectionism, dissatisfaction with the body, or anxiety; and social or cultural factors like being teased or bullied about weight by the society.

5. What is the best treatment for orthorexia?

• Orthorexia can be treated through psychotherapy, gradual exposure and a reintroduction to trigger foods, behavioral modifications, cognitive restructuring, and various forms of relaxation training like meditation, yoga, tai chi, guided imagery, breathing exercises, and weight restoration.

 Reference:

1. “What Are the Signs of Anorexia?” Cleveland Clinic.
2.  Davidson, Katey. “What to Know about Orthorexia.” Healthline, Healthline Media.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Association of Anorexia nervosa with psychiatric and metabolic traits” By Brendagfg – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Woman Eating a Salad” (CC0) via Pexels

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