Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith says ‘clean eating’ trend is making people frightened of food

The comments follow the news that this year's contest will include a vegan round

(Getty/iStock)

Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has warned that clean-eating could be contributing towards eating disorders.

In an interview with Radio Times, the veteran cookery writer said that the trend - which typically involves avoiding gluten, refined sugar, dairy, animal products, and processed foods – is making people frightened of food and could lead to anorexia.

The restaurateur’s comments come just weeks after it was announced that this year’s series of the Channel 4 baking contest, which starts next week, will feature a vegan round for the very first time.

“It’s surrounded by a lot of pseudo-science and I really hate all that because I think it makes people frightened of food and begin to be neurotic about diet and that leads to anorexia and all sorts,” Leith said.

“Food goes in fashions and this became a very London-centric, fashionable, yummy-mummy obsession.”

The clean-eating trend, which was largely popularised by Instagram influencers, has been heavily criticised by experts after it was linked to a rise in cases of orthorexia nervosa – a term which refers to an unhealthy obsession with eating “pure” food.

However, UK eating disorder charity, Beat, says that eating disorders like this are more than just a “faddy diet gone too far”.

“Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses caused by combination of someone’s genes and factors in their life that can act as triggers. Pressure to conform to certain diets would not be the sole and direct cause for someone developing an eating disorder,” Beat’s head of communications Rebecca Field tells The Independent.

GBBO judge Prue Leith has criticised the clean eating trend (Getty Images)

“However, classing certain foods as ‘bad’ or ‘good’ can cause distress to people who are suffering from an eating disorder or vulnerable to developing one, as it can worsen feelings of guilt around a sufferer’s ‘fear foods’.

“Eating disorders are manipulative and secretive illnesses and sufferers may pretend to be following a diet in order to conceal their ill behaviour. It is important to point out that eating disorders are not fads and unlike diets involve a feeling of loss of control and extreme distress for the sufferer.”

Leading Harley Street Nutritionist, Rhiannon Lambert, agrees, explaining that trends like clean-eating have lead to confusion over what is considered healthy.

“Unfortunately, we are hit with different fad diets all the time and this of course confuses people in regards to what is ‘healthy’ and what is not,” she tells The Independent.

“Health ultimately looks different to everyone and the term coined as 'clean eating' lost its initial intention of simply eating well pretty swiftly to something a lot more dangerous.

“We do know that fad diets will not encourage a healthy relationship with food and this is something I witness daily in the Rhitrition Clinic. Eating disorders are serious mental health illness and are far more complex than the element of food alone.”

Leith isn’t the first celebrity to speak out about the clean-eating trend. Last month, Nigella Lawson claimed that people had become “a bit extreme” with their eating habits, adding that “we live in an age of fads.”

“A lot of so-called healthy eating is a cover-up for an eating disorder and I think people persecute themselves to what they do eat and what they don’t eat,” she said.

Similarly, Embarrassing Bodies television host, Dr Christian Jessen, previously criticised so-called “fitspirational” bloggers like Joe Wicks and Gwyneth Paltrow's controversial lifestyle website, Goop for contributing towards eating disorders, particularly among teenagers.

“I’ve had many, many patients, so many of them teenagers, convinced that their healthy lifestyle and their clean-eating regime was really helping them when actually all it was doing was helping them hide their increasingly disordered eating and to cover up an underlying eating disorder."

For help and advice regarding eating disorders, visit Beat's website or call the adult helpline on 0808 801 0677.

The Beat Youthline is open to anyone under 18 at 0808 801 0711.