Actor Obi Ndefo has died at age 51. The Dawson’s Creek star’s sister announced his death on social media but did not initially provide a cause. She described her brother as “an example of pure, unfiltered love and tenacity.” Subsequent media reports revealed that Mr. Ndefo died from heart failure after a years-long battle with the eating disorder orthorexia. His sister, Nkem, said she elected to share the star’s cause of death to bring attention to the illness.
Orthorexia is a largely unknown and relatively newly recognized condition. It refers to a person’s obsession with eating healthy food. First identified in 1997 and defined by Dr. Steven Bratman, the condition manifests as a fixation on separating foods into “pure” and “impure.”
Dr. Bratman noted that physical health problems can result from mischaracterizing what is “pure” food and rejecting foods that are healthy and necessary for a balanced diet. Psychiatrists say that, like many obsessions and addictions, it serves as a distraction from inner turmoil and significant emotional distress.
Mr. Ndefo lost his legs in a car crash five years ago and shared the story on social media. The actor showed off his new high-tech prosthetic legs in 2020 and documented his struggle to learn how to walk with them. The horrific accident occurred in Los Angeles and left the actor with his body almost cut in half. The driver sped away from the scene, but police later caught up with him and charged him with driving under the influence and hit-and-run, resulting in injury to another person.
Doctors described Ndefo’s survival as “miraculous,” and the actor later told reporters that as he lay on the ground, he kept repeating, “I’m alive,” which he believes kept him calm and ultimately saved his life.
Best known for his role as Bodie Wells on the 1990s teen drama Dawson’s Creek, Ndefo also starred in episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Third Rock from the Sun, Stargate SG-1, and The West Wing. The Los Angeles native graduated from Yale Drama School in 1994. Yale alumni shared tributes to the actor online, revealing that he organized a wonderful reunion for fellow graduates in 2022.
