When most of us think of eating disorders, an image of a teen-aged girl or young woman enters into our minds: Sallow complexion, hollowed eyes, noodle-like arms, stick legs. We’ve all ”seen” her. But what about closing your eyes and envisioning a grown man, and not a gangly and lanky one, but rather an overweight gentleman who has battled bulimia, binge-eating disorder, laxative abuse, nighttime eating and an almost dangerous inherited love of food.
In fact, it was precisely the excess pounds and passion for food that landed author of Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater, Frank Bruni, a job as the restaurant critic for The New York Times. In his nakedly honest memoir, Bruni chronicles his life as not just one of the most respected (and feared) food critics in the country, but also as a voracious eater whose relationship with food rendered him powerless over anything from convenience store eats to Chinese food delivery.
I’m sure nearly everyone trying to manage their weight feels guilty when they overeat. There’s a reason they call it “stuffed.” It doesn’t feel good being bloated, especially after some time of eating reasonable portions and re-training the stomach to understand what a comfortable, full feels like.
My mom had a magnet on our refrigerator that said “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!” Of course, there was a picture of a pig eating a piece of coconut cream pie on it. (Lest you think I come from a family of skinny-minnies, quite the contrary. Most adult women in my family weigh in the 200-300 pound range).
As a nutrition expert who works with emotional eating, eating disorders, and weight management I honestly think that magnet should say “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the mind.” While it doesn’t rhyme as well, I do think it is the true damage of overeating. The guilt people can carry can overwhelmingly sabotage any progress toward mindful, healthy eating.
Most of us know that when followed correctly, a vegetarian diet can be incredibly healthy for both humans and the planet. But what happens when someones’ intentions for being healthy go too far? According to the Journal of American Dietetic Association, twice as many teens and nearly double the number of young adults who had been vegetarians reported having used unhealthy means to control their weight like diet pills, laxatives, vomiting or diuretics, compared with those who had never been vegetarians.
These recent findings underscore a chicken-or-the-egg scenario: does being a vegetarian enable an adolescent to develop an eating disorder, or does the youth’s choice to become a vegetarian mask an underlying eating or body image issue? Health and nutrition experts see it as more of an issue with the latter, namely that there are predisposing factors that initially lead a child to choose to abstain from meat and also carry out unhealthy behaviors to control their weight.
In honor of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 22 – 28), we are investigating what some of the most current and effective therapies for treating this devastating disease.
As yoga has been met with open arms here in the West, medical science has also been quick to embrace this 5,000-year old Indian tradition. Recently, yoga has been used to address the psychological factors that enable a full-blown eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia. In fact, some of the most prominent eating disorder treatment centers in the country, like the Renfrew Center in Coconut Creek, Fla., and New York Presbyterian Hospital in White Plains, N.Y., incorporate gentle, meditative yoga courses into their regular treatment plan.
As we continue to bring awareness to National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 22 – February 28), it is fitting that we highlight some of the more well-known cases of eating disorders that have affected some of Hollywood’s most talented starlets.
Nicole Richie and Victoria Beckham are well-known faces of eating disorders.
Tinseltown is known for its hypercritical attitude toward body image and weight. Female entertainers, by far, bear the sharper brunt of this fierce and oftentimes unfair sword than their male colleagues. From the latest media-bashing of Jessica Simpson to the dissection of Hollywood’s new mom’s post-baby bodies, there is little wonder why as many as 10 million females (and 1 million males) are fighting a life and death battle with an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia and millions more are struggling with binge eating disorder, according to the National Eating Disorder Association.
While no one wants to see anyone suffering from a disorder of any kind, celebrities who have been forthright about their weight struggles open up a dialogue for the rest of us who may be too shamed or too fearful to voice our stories.
Here is a look at the more well-publicized cases of eating disorders in young Hollywood women.
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