Did Jack LaLanne Suffer From Orthorexia?

NEW YORK, April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack LaLanne passed away on January 23, 2011 at the ripe old age of 96.  If you're too young to recognize the name, take a moment to read his accomplishments.   He is considered one of the pioneers of health and fitness with a legacy that will hopefully live on for a very long time.  LaLanne was capable of incredible feats of strength and stamina even in his golden years that would put a man 1/4 his age to shame.  In 1968, when he was 54 years old, he whipped 21 year old bodybuilding sensation Arnold the "Terminator" Schwarzenegger badly in a push-up and chin-up contest. He opened the first health clubs and owned and hosted the first fitness television shows. He was a role model and the inspiration to millions of people. To many, he represented salvation from a lifetime of illness and obesity.

Was he suffering from orthorexia?   Orthorexia, a phrase coined in 1996 by physician Steven Bratman is referred to as a "fixation of righteous eating" or in English, an obsession with eating only healthy foods.  This thinking is now getting some attention as a cousin to serious illnesses like anorexia and bulimia.  

Are people who make healthy choices a priority, whether in foods or fitness… sick?  

Recent articles seem to be supporting this claim. What is going on here?

With obesity, increasing BMI and fatter bodies becoming the norm, there are some new trends forming.  Last week it was fat people being absolved due to "addictions," and now those who care about their health and well being are being "diagnosed" with food obsessions!  Yikes!  Where's a "normal" person to turn?

If being overweight is becoming the new "normal", we are in serious trouble say co-authors Dian Griesel, Ph.D. and Tom Griesel.  In their new book, TurboCharged: Accelerate Your Fat Burning Metabolism, Get Lean Fast and Leave Diet and Exercise Rules in the Dust (BSH, 2011), the Griesel's point out that anyone can become lean and healthy.  They explain the causes of food addiction and provide easy ways to "cure" it, once and for all, without medicine, supplements, surgery or expensive equipment.  However, buyer beware: Desire to be healthy is required.

Tom Griesel states, "Look around and you will see that over 70% of us are overweight and the number is growing every day. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing. There are more diet books, weight-loss articles, web blogs, drugs, supplements, 'fitness' centers, personal trainers, joggers, exercise equipment and other gadgets than ever before. None of this seems to be helping. We now have easy access to better quality food and water than at any other time in the history of man but our waistlines keep increasing. We are becoming fatter and sicker and our children are following in our footsteps."

Dian Griesel, Ph.D., who has spent the past 15 years working with drug development companies states, "We do not need another illness and a subsequent drug to cure desire for health. We do however need three things: more personal responsibility, better information as to why certain foods are engineered to create drug like cravings and better information as to what is wrong with current diet and exercise advice."

As the Griesel's remind us, a favorite quote of Jack LaLanne's was:  "I've never met a fat person I don't like.  But I sure don't like that fat they are carrying."  

So, why are people who choose to make healthy choices called health "nuts"?  The name alone points to the "fact" that there is something inherently wrong with them.  As more and more people become overweight, we are facing a very dangerous trend if healthy, fit people are targeted as the "odd-balls" who become increasingly ostracized in society at large.  Dian is very concerned, she says: "The creation and talk of this buzz word orthorexia will continue to expand to include all of us 'health nuts.'  If left unconfronted, we 'health nuts' may all end up institutionalized!  When in fact—it is obesity and all its related ills like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer that are putting an enormous strain on our healthcare system and country."

Tom concludes, "These days if someone spends two hours a day exercising and makes healthy food choices, they may be diagnosed as orthorexic.  Give me a break!  The average American spends more than 2 hours a day watching the tube and/or surfing the internet or playing video games all while consuming chips, pizza and ice cream!  What name should we come up for this affliction or disease?"

The Griesel's conclusion: If Jack LaLanne was suffering from orthorexia…we should all be so lucky to catch the "disease" and live as healthfully and physically fit as he did until age 97 when he died peacefully after a lifetime of being illness-free.

To purchase a copy of TurboCharged, please visit: www.amazon.com/dp/1936705001.

For more information about the book and authors Dian and Tom Griesel, please visit: www.turbocharged.us.com.

SOURCE Business School of Happiness