When does a healthy lifestyle turn into a disorder? Orthorexia – diagnostic problems, methods of treatment

ZALEWA, Karolina, KAPŁAN, Wojciech, RACHWAŁ, Dominika, BARTOSZEK, Lidia, OLSZAK, Joanna, ROGOWSKA, Monika, ŚWIDZIŃSKI, Rafał, LIPIEC, Jakub, SKORUPSKI, Bartosz & PIĄTEK, Ewa. When does a healthy lifestyle turn into a disorder? Orthorexia – diagnostic problems, methods of treatment. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2023;33(1):67-77. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.33.01.008

https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/43713

https://zenodo.org/record/7977172

The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of December 21, 2021. No. 32343.

Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences).

Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 21 grudnia 2021 r. Lp. 32343. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159.

Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe: Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu).

© The Authors 2023;

This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Received: 27.04.2023. Revised: 10.05.2023. Accepted: 27.05.2023. Published: 27.05.2023.

When does a healthy lifestyle turn into a disorder? Orthorexia – diagnostic problems, methods of treatment

Karolina Zalewa¹, Wojciech Kapłan², Dominika Rachwał¹, Lidia Bartoszek¹, Joanna Olszak¹, Monika Rogowska³, Rafał Świdziński², Jakub Lipiec², Bartosz Skorupski², Ewa Piątek⁴

¹Chair and Department of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care, Medical University of Warsaw, Karowa street 2, 00-315 Warsaw, Poland

²Chair and Department of Psychology, Medical University of Lublin, Chodźki street 7, 20-093 Lublin, Poland

³Chair and Department of Pediatric Radiology, Medical University of Lublin

⁴Medical University of Lublin

Karolina Zalewa zalewa.karolina@gmail.com ORCID: 0009-0004-0610-6866

Wojciech Kapłan wojtek.kaplan@gmail.com ORCID: 0000-0003-2270-0318

Dominika Rachwał dominikarachwal98@gmail.com ORCID: 0009-0001-9104-0459

Lidia Bartoszek lidka.bartosz@gmail.com ORCID: 0009-0000-1656-7325

Joanna Olszak asia.olszak663@gmail.com ORCID: 0009-0004-0211-1449

Monika Rogowska m.rogowska98@gmail.com ORCID: 0000-0002-9617-7307

Rafał Świdziński swidzinog@gmail.com ORCID: 0000-0002-8535-0936

Jakub Lipiec jlipiec98@gmail.com ORCID: 0000-0001-6711-4684

Bartosz Skorupski bartekskorupsky@gmail.com ORCID: 0009-0003-3314-983X

Ewa Piątek ewa.piatek97@gmail.com ORCID: 0009-0000-9051-5777

Abstract

Introduction: Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a common phenomenon. Its prevalence in society ranges from 1% to 60%. Yet, there are no specific diagnostic criteria or effective screening tests. Moreover, orthorexia does not appear in any of the available international psychiatric classifications such as the ICD (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) and DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Due to this fact many people remain undiagnosed, which significantly affects their standard of living, and later puts a strain on the health care system.

Material and method: The article is based on a study and analysis of available publications in the last few years, published in the PubMed database.

Conclusions: It is crucial to create specific diagnostic criteria for orthorexia. This will enable efficient detection of patients at an early stage of the disorder, which will significantly shorten the diagnostic path. Moreover, specifying potential risk factors will help to reduce new cases.

Keywords: orthorexia nervosa; eating disorders; treatment; social media; health