Eating disorders affect people from all walks of life, have varying symptoms, and can be easily disguised by those afflicted. Obsessive exercise, starvation, and laxative abuse are some of the most common behaviors of eating disorder sufferers. The reasons these symptoms are developed are wide ranging, but usually boil down to a lack of self-esteem and pressure to fit some imaginary societal mold.

Even the beautiful, rich, and famous suffer from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. We’ve compiled a list of celebrities—some surprising, some not so much—who have overcome eating disorders and managed to have a healthy relationship with diet, exercise, and themselves.

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Every time Kelly Osbourne loses 10 pounds, she get’s a magazine cover. 

Gracing the cover of SELF Magazine is Osbourne, flipping her trademark lavender hair and looking svelte in a flowery two piece. Since losing 50 pounds four years ago, we’ve been clamoring over every regained dress size and potential relapse. Truth is, we all care about her weight much more than she does.

“I don’t weigh myself,” she told SELF. “If you like what you see in front of the mirror, then what’s the f—ing point of getting on a scale?”

Overweight for most of her life, Kelly’s battle with drugs and near-overdose received less media attention than her mildly fluctuating weight. In 2009, Kelly entered a a drug treatment facility to care for her five-year addiction to painkillers. Constipation is a common symptom of painkiller abuse, which probably left her bloated for extended periods of time. Rehab worked, and as soon as she beat her addiction she was able to focus on regaining health in all aspects of her life.
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Pregnant moms with odd cravings isn’t news; the two go together like newborns and sleep deprivation. As much as we’d like a cold, hard reason for why we crave things completely out of the ordinary when we’re pregnant, that research doesn’t really exist. It is what it is. Some have said that a craving can be linked to a deficiency, your body’s way of raising a red flag and saying “give me some iron,” but the science to back that up hasn’t yet been found.

So why has Jenna Wolfe, a correspondent for the TODAY Show, been so carb crazy during her pregnancy? Mary Hartley, RD says, “My best guess is that Jenna is craving more calories from carbohydrates relative to her former diet, which may have emphasized protein and only enough calories to maintain a svelte figure.”

Prior to becoming pregnant, Wolfe admits on her TODAY Show blog that she maintained an incredibly healthy diet. Just look at her – that’s all the proof you need! “Yogurt, fruit, nuts, eggs, salad, protein, veggies, grains, protein,” she wrote about the way it was.

Today, her pregnancy diet doesn’t look much different than other moms: “Cold cereal, bagel, order a salad for lunch (good), only eat the croutons from that salad (yeesh), pasta, pasta, a pickle, pasta, dessert.”

“Carbohydrates provide energy, and now Jenna needs enough energy to run two bodies,” commented Hartley. Sure, one body is very little, but it is growing fast! Pregnant women need to eat enough calories to support the baby’s weight gain. ”

But like a lot of moms, Wolfe is feeling the unfair pressure of judgment by other moms. She wrote, “I’m battling the pregnancy pitfalls and am struggling to stay on the fitness track. But please know I’m trying.”
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Celebrity weight is always rising and falling in America, and while it may be fodder for some, obese celebrities have a serious disease that doesn’t improve under the glitzy lights of Hollywood. They’re “just like us” when it comes to health.

In the last year, Rosie O’Donnell suffered a heart attack, Al Roker revealed his struggles with gastric bypass surgery, and Jennifer Hudson released a memoir detailing her battle with self-image and weight loss. These particular celebrities are examples of a proactive and positive approach to a disease that kills an estimated 112,000 Americans each year, according to the CDC.

Those stars, and many others, have gotten the wake-up call. But others didn’t. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite entertainers who weren’t able to conquer their weight-related health issues, and as a result, died too soon.

Patrice O’Neal, 1969-2011

The comedian and actor was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in his 20s and had battled weight issues for much of his life. On October 19, 2011 he had a stroke and died of complications one month later at the age of 41.
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Most Americans make the same promise to themselves at the new year, and it doesn’t matter if you live on Main St. or Hollywood Blvd. We all want to lose weight, look fitter, and feel stronger, and the celebrity set isn’t any different from us, except that they do it under the watchful guise of millions. That’s why we want to celebrate the weight loss efforts of a few of these stars.

As we close out the first quarter of the year, several have posted positive returns on those weight loss resolution investments!

CeeLo Green is down more than 12 pounds toward a 50 pound goal since launching the new year as a spokesman for eDiets. When we spoke to the company’s marketing team earlier this year they said CeeLo’s goal was to improve his health and not fixate on a number. The meal-delivery service seems to be a perfect addition to this busy singer’s life.
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