Pregorexia – Dangerous Pregnancy-Related Eating Disorder
Tim Klein
2026-03-18
7 min. read
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External appearances hold a crucial significance for many individuals who often base their self-esteem on how they are judged by others. In our present times, eating disorders have become a serious issue that affects an increasing number of people. Among these disorders is pregorexia, which can be doubly dangerous. Why does this happen?
Pregorexia: Definition, Developmental Mechanisms, and Clinical Characteristics of the Eating Disorder During Pregnancy
Pregorexia represents a lesser-known yet clinically significant eating disorder that emerges exclusively during pregnancy. The term is a portmanteau of "prego," derived from the Italian word for pregnancy, and "-rexia," a suffix associated with anorexia nervosa, reflecting its psychological underpinnings. First coined in 2008, the concept was introduced to describe pathological eating behaviors in pregnant women, though it has not yet been formally recognized in medical taxonomies, remaining primarily within the realm of popular psychology. This disorder is characterized by an obsessive preoccupation with body weight control and an active resistance to the physiologically necessary weight gain during gestation. Initial cases were identified in Western countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, where a troubling pattern emerged: pregnant women deliberately restricted caloric intake and engaged in extreme weight-loss practices despite the elevated nutritional demands of pregnancy, thereby jeopardizing both maternal and fetal well-being.
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