Orthorexics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Describing individuals who have an unhealthy obsession with eating foods they consider healthy and avoiding those deemed unhealthy
2. Referring to people whose strict dietary choices lead to excessive concern about nutrition and food purity
3. Identifying those who practice an extreme form of orthorexia, prioritizing perceived healthfulness to the detriment of overall well-being

Etymology: "Orthorexics" is the plural of "orthorexic," the noun for a person affected by orthorexia, an unhealthy fixation on eating only what one considers pure or healthy. The plural simply follows the pattern of the base noun, so it describes a group of such people rather than adding a new sense. The base word is built from Greek roots. "Orthos" means "correct" or "straight," and "orexis" means "appetite" or "desire," the same root that gives English "anorexia." Together they suggest an appetite for correctness. The term is a modern coinage rather than an ancient one, and it was formed by analogy with "anorexia," so the "-exia" ending in the older word is replaced here by "-exia" from "orexis" with "ortho-" added to the front.

Synonyms: healthy eaters