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Pathological healthy eating is a proposed pattern of disordered eating in which the pursuit of a “healthy” or “pure” diet becomes rigid, obsessive, and harmful. Its most severe form is usually called orthorexia nervosa. It involves strict food-quality rules, distress when those rules are broken, and possible nutritional, social, or functional impairment. That distress and impairment separate it from a healthy interest in nutrition. It is not a recognized diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR.
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CNP (2026). Pathological Healthy Eating. In CNP Encyclopedia Editorial Board (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Nutritional Psychology. The Center for Nutritional Psychology.
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