Tag Archives: anorexia

Normal Body Weight Can Hide Eating Disorders

A study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California-San Francisco found that teens and young adults with atypical anorexia can have normal body weights and still be dangerously ill. The research is the largest, most comprehensive assessment to date of normal-weight adolescents with atypical anorexia. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by weight loss (or lack of appropriate weight gain in growing children); difficulties maintaining an appropriate body weight for height, age, and stature; and, in many individuals, disordered body image. People with anorexia generally restrict the number of calories and … Continue reading →

Anorexia Is Striking Tweens

What used to be common problems in high school are now trickling down to middle school. And according to a recent article I read at “CNN Health,” anorexia is becoming yet another problem for tweens. Tweens are considered to be children who are between the ages of 9 and 12 years old. Yes, even at these young ages they are beginning to worry about their weight and apparently to a point that they are actually developing anorexia. It starts even younger when girls begin to point out to others that they are fat (or they worry that they are fat). … Continue reading →

Physical Problems Brought On By Eating Disorders

The whole thing had started as a way to improve Christina’s looks. All it had done over the years was wear her body down. Her hair was thin and lifeless. Her face dry and flaccid. Her eyes, dull and rimmed with red. The skin on her upper arms drooped, robbed of muscle tone. Her body was an odd mix of thin limbs and stubborn stores of fat, seemingly as double-minded about itself as she was. She was tired all the time; tired of the constant battle with her body. At some point, her body had ceased to be her subservient … Continue reading →

Understanding the Difference Between Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating

In mid-June I’m speaking at a conference on eating disorders hosted by FINDINGbalance, a non-profit with a unique focus on disordered eating. Theirs is the first national organization dedicated to creating awareness and understanding of EDNOS (Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified), like chronic dieting, emotional eating, and organic food obsessions generally viewed as normal in today’s society. As I write in Hope, Help & Healing for Eating Disorders: “It doesn’t take being diagnosed with an eating disorder to realize something is wrong with the way you eat or the way you feel about food. You may not starve yourself continually. … Continue reading →

New Miss America Speaks Out About Eating Disorder

What a difference a few years can make… It was just three years ago that newly crowned Miss America Kirsten Haglund was so painfully thin her parents “dragged” her to a doctor who diagnosed the teen with anorexia. This weekend the “recovered” Miss Michigan looked healthy and toned as she strutted her stuff in front of millions. The 19-year-old’s past battle with weight issues hardly seemed to hold her back as she advanced through pageant rounds and eventually walked away with the Miss America crown. It was only after the pageant that the Broadway hopeful, who belted out “Somewhere Over … Continue reading →

Are You a Food Phobic?

Phobias come in many forms and having a phobia about food is no exception. A food phobic is more than a fussy eater, although that would be the tag generally attached to such a person. Food phobia has little to do with more well-known eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia. So what exactly are the characteristics of a food phobic? Marcia Pelchat, a Philadelphia-based food psychologist states that a person with a food phobia dislikes the taste of certain foods to an excessive extent and avoids them wherever possible. This also applies to the texture of certain foods. … Continue reading →

Warning Signs of Eating Disorders

The media constantly portrays the perfect woman as a slim and beautiful size 6, yet statistics show that the average woman is between sizes 11 and 14. As a result there is an increase in cases of eating disorders primarily among women. A survey completed by Exeter University in Great Britain reported that over half of the 37,500 teenage girls surveyed reported that their appearance was the biggest concern in their lives. They also found that 59% of girls who suffered from low self-esteem ages twelve to thirteen were dieting. Sadly about three percent of these girls will go to … Continue reading →

Model’s Death Prompts Wake Up Call

Three days after the death of anorexic high fashion model Ana Carolina Reston, those close to her are hoping the fashion industry will finally wake up to the dangers of the eating disorder. According to medical reports, Reston, a 21-year-old Brazilian model, weighed only 88 pounds at the time of her death. Doctors at the hospital where Reston was pronounced dead said she “succumbed to a generalized infection caused by anorexia nervosa.” Now, Reston’s family, friends and colleagues are going public with the hope that her death isn’t in vain. Today, Reston’s mother, Miriam, told a local Brazilian newspaper that … Continue reading →

Stop Weight Loss through Bulimia and Anorexia

Sadly, approximately 5% of all females and 1% of all males in the United States suffer from bulimia or anorexia, many just trying to lose weight. In addition, some 250,000 Canadian women between the age of 13 and 40 also live with these diseases. What makes this so frightening is that the number of people with eating disorders is growing, specifically in western states. In both cases, the person becomes obsessed with food, wanting to become thin. With bulimia, a person will consume a tremendous amount of calories, usually in one setting, and then use laxatives or vomiting to purge. … Continue reading →

How Skinny Is Too Skinny?

How skinny is too skinny? It’s a question that editors of fashion and celebrity magazines seem to address every few months. Perhaps, it’s fueled by what is photographed on runways or a movie premieres. Regardless of what the motive is, it is not unusual to see reports suggesting that yet another of Hollywood’s elite is suffering from an eating disorder. The media’s latest target: actress, Kiera Knightly. The 21-year-old was forced to defend her appearance at last week’s London premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” Knightly denied that she is trying to follow the Hollywood trend of … Continue reading →