Background: Orthorexia Comes of Age: Past, Present and Future of the Most Controversial Eating Disorder
I. Past - Why I coined the term orthorexia - Dr. Steven Bratman - 5 min.
II. Present- Dr. Steven Bratman and Amanda Mellowspring
A. US & International Research into Orthorexia Nervosa - 5 min.
B. Proposed Formal Criteria & Screening Tool - 10 min.
C. Case Examples - 15 min.
1. similarities and differences to Anorexia Nervosa
2. similarities and differences to Bulimia Nervosa
3. similarities and differences to Binge Eating Disorder
4. similarities and differences to Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
D. Treatment Approaches - 10 min.
1. Residential Treatment Models
2. Outpatient Treatment Models
III. Future - Jessica Setnick - 20 min.
A. Contributors to Orthorexia Development - The Dysfunctional Eating Behavior Model
1. Biology
2. Society
3. Chronic and/or Traumatic Stress
B. Determining Future Treatment
IV. Experiential challenge - What is it like to fear food? - 5 min.
V. Question & Answer period - 20 min.
The word "Orthorexia" first appeared in print in 1997, when Steven Bratman, MD, then an alternative medicine physician, coined the term to describe patients he observed suffering from “an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food.”
Since that time, orthorexia - the word and the disorder - have gone from obscurity to ridicule to media darling.
Although criteria have been proposed for Orthorexia Nervosa - first by dietitian Jessica Setnick, MS, RD, CEDRD, in the Eating Disorders Clinical Pocket Guide, 2nd Edition in 2013, and then by Moroze et al. in 2015 - questions about the legitimacy of orthorexia as a distinct eating disorder remain despite the common usage of this terminology amongst treatment providers.
For the first time ever, Dr. Bratman is going to speak to the international community of eating disorder professionals about why and how he conceived of orthorexia, and to present the newly proposed orthorexia criteria and screening tool that he developed with Thom Dunn from the Setnick and Moroze models.
Joining Dr. Bratman are two notable eating disorder dietitians - Setnick and Amanda Mellowspring, MS, RD, CEDRD.
Amanda Mellowspring, MS,RD,CEDRD has been viewed as a national resource in the treatment of Orthorexia Nervosa for over a decade and has presented on this topic area in multiple national arenas, including being the first to bring this to the iaedp community at a national Symposium. Mellowspring will present orthorexia case examples from her extensive experience working in various levels of care. Examples will aide in distinguishing orthorexia from other diagnostic eating disorders, and discuss treatment options and modalities.
Setnick will cover the direction that research must take to bring orthorexia treatment up to par with other eating disorders, including the Dysfunctional Eating Behavior Model and what our field can hope to learn about orthorexia as it enters its next decade.
I am a physician and expert on alternative medicine, with numerous book publications. In 1996, I coined the term orthorexia nervosa, and the following year published an essay on the subject in Yoga Journal, In 2000, I published a book on the subject titled Health Food Junkies. I manage the blog orthorexia.com, and have recently coauthored a paper with Thom Dunn, setting out proposed diagnostic criteria for orthorexia nervosa.
Jessica Setnick, MS, RD, CEDRD is the author of The Eating Disorders Clinical Pocket Guide and the founder of Eating Disorders Boot Camp, used by clinicians around the world to aid their patients in recovery. She is the recipient of many awards recognizing her contributions to the eating disorders field. After 15 years working in hospital and community settings with individuals in recovery from eating disorders, Jessica closed her private practice to focus full time on her mission of education and training for professionals. She currently serves as a Meadows Senior Fellow at Remuda Ranch.
and
Amanda Mellowspring, MS, RD, CEDRD
Amanda Mellowspring is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and has worked as a leader in nutrition services in a variety of treatment settings including RTC, PHP, IOP, college health, and private practice. Amanda served as an author for the development and publication of Standards of Practice and Standards of Professional Performance for dietitians working with eating disorders. Amanda is a nationally recognized speaker regarding nutrition in the treatment of eating disorders. Amanda owns Eat from the Earth Nutrition Counseling, LLC and Altitude IOP, LLC in Blacksburg, VA. Amanda and her family own and operate Mellowspring Family Farms, LLC.
