Associates in Nutrition & Sports Specialty

With obesity rates rising and health officials touting the importance of improved nutrition and exercise, it may be surprising to learn that an increased fixation on healthy eating can actually lead to an increased risk of health problems.

 When your concern over the nutritional value of all your meals becomes an obsession, you may be at risk for developing orthorexia, an eating disorder characterized by an excessive focus on healthy eating. Unlike anorexics who are fixated on weight loss, orthorexics are overly concerned about the purity of food.

This disease can look a lot like healthy behavior at first, and may be hard to identify. Some warning signs of orthorexia include spending more than three hours a day thinking about healthy food, planning the day’s menus more than 24 hours in advance and taking more joy from how “good for you” a meal is than from the experience of eating it.

Orthorexics may obsess over nutrient ratios, become compulsive calorie counters and plan their meals meticulously by charts. They may avoid eating out or eating food that other people make. They often pay more attention to their food than to work, family and hobbies.

Many orthorexics experience a decrease in their quality of life as they become increasingly focused on improving the quality of their food intake. As a result, orthorexics often avoid activities they once enjoyed for fear of encountering “bad” foods. They may feel guilty if they deter from their healthy eating plan.

Just like those suffering from anorexia, orthorexics perceive that if they can control their diet, they can have more control over their life.

What can be done about orthorexia?

If you or someone you care about has one or more of the traits described above, please seek consultation from a medical professional such as your physician or a registered dietician. For most sufferers, psychological help from a caring and understanding professional is the key. The process can be a long one, because its combating ingrained beliefs. It can be hard for people with this problem to comprehend that their “healthy” diet is actually hurting their bodies, and the complications can be as serious as other eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa.

By cutting out too many foods from their diets, some sufferers are at risk of developing nutritional deficiencies or even starving themselves to death. Others may lose muscle and bone mass, permanently changing their bodies and their metabolism.

If you believe that you or someone you love may be obsessive about healthy eating, it might be time to get help.

- Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition and Sports Specialty in Florida. Hastings can be contacted at Elaine@eatrightRD.com or by visiting AssociatesinNutrition.com.

As obesity rates in the United States continue to rise at an alarming rate, so do the medical costs associated with weight-related illnesses. Obesity is linked to many of the top chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many forms of cancer. The treatments for these illnesses routinely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

According to a 1998 study, obesity accounted for 9.1 percent of all medical expenditures or approximately $78.5 billion. With one in every three American adults diagnosed as obese, the health risks and associated medical costs continue to increase.

Health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol are more common in people who are obese, so these factors have contributed to an increase in doctor visits and hospital admissions for these patients. People are defined as overweight if their body mass index is 25-29.9 and obese if their BMI is greater than 30.

Overall, medical costs for a person within a normal weight range are estimated at $3,442 per year, while a person diagnosed as obese spends an average of $4,871.

Given the disparity of these costs, one can argue that obesity may be one of the most significant reasons for the increase in medical costs in the country. The average American is now about 23 pounds overweight, so reducing this health crisis should be a priority. As a country, the United States is an estimated 4.6 billion pounds overweight.

Simply put, obesity is an epidemic that is increasing the number of associated medical conditions and the resulting rise in health care costs. As a result, the U.S. surgeon general is calling upon the nation to work together in finding solutions and has provided the health care community with guidelines for evaluating and treating overweight and obese patients, including safe and effective weight-loss principles.

Policy and environmental change initiatives that make healthy choices in nutrition and physical activity available, affordable and easy will likely prove most effective in combating obesity. In addition, behavioral changes such as adopting healthier eating habits and establishing an exercise routine are very important for people identified as overweight or obese.

These patients should seek the support of their doctor or a registered dietitian who can provide them with proper nutritional guidelines and recommend a fitness program. Prevention and education are critical to reducing the high rate of obesity and associated health risks and costs.