Orthorexia Nervosa

Orthorexia Nervosa

1)

The article Orthorexia Nervosa: How becoming obsessed with healthy eating can lead to malnutrition was written by Siobhan Norton, and posted on the website Independent.co.uk on Sunday the 30th of August 2015. The article is informative, and its main purpose is to inform its reader about orthorexia nervosa. Orthorexia nervosa differs from other eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Its main purpose is often not to be skinny, but to eat healthy and “clean”. Also it is not yet categorized as an eating disorder. In the article we are introduced to Jordan Younger, a New York food blogger. She was a passionate believer in clean eating until she started to notice that she was struggling with different foods and also panicking when faced with an unplanned meal. After noticing and getting back to a healthy mind-set, she now says that the problem with orthorexia nervosa, is that it is socially acceptable, and people admire other people who have the willpower to eat healthy all the time. We are also introduced to Carrie Armstrong, a TV presenter from Newcastle, who became orthorexia after an illness. She says that orthorexia is less about control, and more about feeling “safe”.

2)

The intention of this article is to inform the reader about orthorexia nervosa, that has not yet been classified as an eating disorder. The article argues its point, that orthorexia nervosa is an eating disorder, by informing us about when the term was first used. The fact that it was a doctor who first used the term establishes ethos, because doctors are known to be trustworthy. Furthermore, the text argues it’s point by introducing the reader to two women who have suffered from orthorexia nervosa. One of the girls, Carrie Armstrong, says that she fell into the illness after facing another illness, and that she felt that the only thing she was able to control, was what she put in her mouth. She also says that she got a physical high from restriction. This appeals to the emotions of the reader, as it is a personal story. The text also involves Mary George from Beat, an eating disorder charity. She says that since orthorexia nervosa hasn’t yet been recognised as an eating disorder, it’s hard to say if cases are on the rise, but that it is more heard off nowadays. This appeals to pathos as it tells the reader that orthorexia nervosa must be a problem, if we are starting to hear more about it. Jordan Younger, the other woman in the article who once suffered from orthorexia nervosa, says that although she seemed healthy to her followers, she was suffering, and was scared to eat certain foods and started to panic if she was faced with an unplanned meal. She herself started to notice that there was something unhealthy about her diet after losing her period. She says about her illness that “I didn’t control food, food controlled me.”, which also appeals to ethos.

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