Orthorexia is the obsession with a pure diet, which quickly becomes a way of life worrying about the quality of food being consumed. A person suffering from Othorexia may resort to self-punishing methods such as starvation if they stray from their pure diet.

A person suffering from Orthorexia will experience a significant negative impact on their life. They will, for example, think about food and how it is prepared to avoid stress and problems. Orthorexia is a long term behaviour pattern, and is not explained by religious rites.

There are many symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder within sufferers of Orthorexia, including a strong preoccupation with food and the diet, and exaggerated concerns with healthy eating.

Sufferers are concerned with eating what they consider to be "healthy" food, and consider preserved products to be "dangerous."  The disorder is not driven as such by a desire to be thin, or by people who perceive themselves as fat. Rather, the problem arrises with an overwhelming and controlling desire to eat healthy food. It is dangerous and sufferers are often quite physically ill, and Orthorexia can result in death.