Being Aware of Eating Disorders
Posted by
Nirmala N.
I was watching a show on VH1 or some other such trashy celebreality network, regarding women in the media who are "too thin." Now, I've never really paid too much attention to shows like these, because in my opinion, they exploit women's worst insecurities. That is, if the tabloid journalist isn't going on about how stick-skinny someone is, she's too fat or she's too ugly. It's always something, and in some ways, these labels are interchangeable, because it has more to do with the criticism than what the person under attack is being critiqued for.
All the same, the show did raise a lot of questions about eating disorders. The women who were being scrutinized all said at one point or other that they did NOT have an eating disorder but rather, were naturally skinny. However, some of the women (mainly actresses) reported having a strict diet of 800 calories per day. 800 calories per day!!! I couldn't believe that they were in denial, because this, to me, spells out eating disorder.
The classical example of an eating disorder is somewhat distorted--we imagine people like Karen Carpenter, who had an obvious clinical problem, or the stereotypical high school cheerleader who purges her guts on a regular basis because she's scared of gaining weight. I opine that most eating disorders are a lot more subtle and probably undetected, so we need to be vigilant about educating ourselves on what exactly an eating disorder is.
I think that thinness has become so dangerously in vogue that sadly, even gorgeous women like Keira Knightley or Mischa Barton are deluded into thinking that their skinniness is normal. Who wouldn't, if it's such a hot commodity? But for these women to talk about their extreme (or extremely meager) eating habits and then turn around and say they don't have an eating disorder seems disingenous to me. Doesn't matter if you eat regularly--if you're skimping on calories and food groups, that, to me, indicates a problem.
Americans need to have a more open dialogue about what constitutes eating disorders. Sure, we are afflicted with obesity and problems around overeating, but there is still a hugely undiagnosed population of people in the U.S. who are struggling with severe eating disorders.
Being Aware of Eating Disorders
Posted by Nirmala N.
I was watching a show on VH1 or some other such trashy celebreality network, regarding women in the media who are "too thin." Now, I've never really paid too much attention to shows like these, because in my opinion, they exploit women's worst insecurities. That is, if the tabloid journalist isn't going on about how stick-skinny someone is, she's too fat or she's too ugly. It's always something, and in some ways, these labels are interchangeable, because it has more to do with the criticism than what the person under attack is being critiqued for.
All the same, the show did raise a lot of questions about eating disorders. The women who were being scrutinized all said at one point or other that they did NOT have an eating disorder but rather, were naturally skinny. However, some of the women (mainly actresses) reported having a strict diet of 800 calories per day. 800 calories per day!!! I couldn't believe that they were in denial, because this, to me, spells out eating disorder.
The classical example of an eating disorder is somewhat distorted--we imagine people like Karen Carpenter, who had an obvious clinical problem, or the stereotypical high school cheerleader who purges her guts on a regular basis because she's scared of gaining weight. I opine that most eating disorders are a lot more subtle and probably undetected, so we need to be vigilant about educating ourselves on what exactly an eating disorder is.
I think that thinness has become so dangerously in vogue that sadly, even gorgeous women like Keira Knightley or Mischa Barton are deluded into thinking that their skinniness is normal. Who wouldn't, if it's such a hot commodity? But for these women to talk about their extreme (or extremely meager) eating habits and then turn around and say they don't have an eating disorder seems disingenous to me. Doesn't matter if you eat regularly--if you're skimping on calories and food groups, that, to me, indicates a problem.
Americans need to have a more open dialogue about what constitutes eating disorders. Sure, we are afflicted with obesity and problems around overeating, but there is still a hugely undiagnosed population of people in the U.S. who are struggling with severe eating disorders.