'Orthorexia' Is More And More Common. Here's What You Should Know About It.

Social media pressures only makes this condition more prevalent.

Between fad diets, the protein-ification of nearly everything and new wearable technology that tracks all kinds of biometrics, it’s easy to get swept up in the health-obsession craze.

Plus, with all of the information online and on social media, it can be hard to know what you need and don’t need when it comes to your health, especially nutrition. There are videos all over social media in which people refer to certain foods as “bad” or containing “fake ingredients,” which only fuel a societal infatuation with “eating healthy.”

While there is nothing wrong with eating a healthy diet — it’s a great way to bolster your well-being — there is a line that healthy eating can cross. Too much of a focus on it can turn into something known as orthorexia, a condition that’s becoming more common in society, and some research says that’s in large part because of pressure from social media.

You won’t find orthorexia in the DSM-5, which is the official handbook for mental health diagnoses, but two dietitians told HuffPost they expect it to become an official diagnosis eventually.

“It’s subclinical disordered eating, so it’s not something that has a clinical diagnosis code, but it’s widely recognized in the disordered eating community,” said Beth Auguste, a maternal wellness dietitian in Philadelphia.