Orthorexia Nervosa Summary

One of America’s main concerns today is the consumer attitude towards food and health. Michael Pollan, a professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, has detailed in his essay “The American Paradox” that the general well-being of people is acutely dependent on the amount of time they spend agonizing over food and its nourishment. He suggests that the unhealthy obsession with nutrition and corporeal vitality creates adverse effects on the delights of eating as well as the mental and physical welfare of people. Pollan is not incorrect in his claim that “no people on earth worry more about the health consequences of their food choices than we Americans do—and no people suffer from as many diet-related health problems.” After …show more content…
The article reports, “Despite the fixation on healthfulness, cutting out food groups can lead to nutrient deficiencies and malnutrition.” Anorexia nervosa is a condition in which people attempt to maintain a below-average weight through starvation or exceedingly rigorous exercise because of their extreme fear of gaining weight. Sufferers of this condition often experience depression and anxiety, and these psychological repercussions can also lead people to disregard critical nutrients the body needs to function and stay healthy. Bulimia nervosa is a condition marked by binge-eating. Like the sufferers of anorexia, people who suffer from bulimia attempt to circumvent weight gain through starvation or exceedingly rigorous exercise, but usually through voluntary vomiting. Sufferers of bulimia may experience anger, mood swings, or guilt. In short, it is safe to presume that the detrimental consequences prompted by the obsession with nutrition are essentially the same as the effects produced by anorexia and