at a lunch recently i could not help but observe the extreme preoccupation of the girl dining next to our table with clean and healthy living she placed her order with multiple mandates ask the chef to add only one tablespoon oil and just sprinkle little salt and do not bring the bread with pasta and make sure he adds just a handful of pasta and loads it up with veggies she even reprimanded the server for bringing a plastic mineral water bottle how do we save the plastic overburden weighing 81 kilos i should have actually taken a tip or two from the girl but i just sighed because just the previous day id come across an article on orthorexia nervosa which is when a healthy conscious diet goes too far this is when more than the quality people start to worry about the quantity of food and how it is prepared honestly while it is smart to care about what you eat and how you eat it when these limitations and restrictions start taking over your life it can lead to a dangerous trend an international psychologist sherry pagoto shared how if a behaviour is so disruptive that it starts to interfere with your work and personal relationships it could be a sign of a psychological disorder and our social life is a huge factor in health because that is what helps us relieve stresssometimes food obsession can turn so extreme that it makes people turn down invitations because they fear healthy food wont be available at the place or if they still accept the invite and go they will not eat anything there for the risk of letting the wrong food enter their body people suffering from orthorexia spend hours picking the ingredients and shopping for their groceries many a times they try hiding it from their family and close friends too because they dont want to face criticism wondering if it is the same as anorexia well it is not people with orthorexia worry incessantly about what they are going to put in their mouth their primary goal may or may not be weight loss but is more about eating what they perceive is the best for them an anorexic may completely avoid fat while the orthorexic will include healthy fats because he knows fats are important too same goes for other important nutrients while the disorder has yet not been classified as a proper disorder it can be seen as a form of obsessive compulsive disorder ocd because more than the fear of imperfect body image and self esteem issues the person is more scared of eating food that will make them unfit or ill they pay a little too much attention to what books and experts say is the ideal diet and they do not want to digress from it at any cost do you know someone who suffers from orthorexia