terrible made-up words

Introducing ‘Pregorexia,’ a Word You Should Not Repeat

Photo: Image Source/Corbis

CNN taught us a new word today: pregorexia. It’s a term used to describe women who suffer from an extreme obsession with weight, food restriction, and exercise during pregnancy. Not only is that awful because pregnancy is a great time to eat EVERYTHING, it’s also dangerous for the mother and the fetus, for obvious reasons.

Yet some women are so fearful of gaining weight that even pregnancy can’t sway them. And that is because they suffer from anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder listed in the DSM-5, not this so-called “pregorexia,” which is a made-up word. See, anorexia and pregnancy are not related at all. Being pregnant will not give you anorexia. Sure, being in a position where you must gain weight might trigger underlying anorexic tendencies — but if those tendencies exist, they originated long before the baby. Do us all a favor and never use this word again — the world does not need any more words with preg- and/or -rexia in them.

Introducing ‘Pregorexia,’ Not to Be Repeated