A size six is now being considered plus sized for models. As shocking as that may be to most of us, it may be more shocking when you consider that Christie Brinkley, Paulina Proizkova, and Cindy Crawford all wore a size six at the height of their super model careers in the 1990s, according to PLUS Model magazine’s January edition. It horrifies me to think that my younger cousins might look at Cindy Crawford and think she is plus sized!
The article in PLUS Model magazine also reports that half of today’s women wear a size 14 and above, but most retail stores carry only sizes 14 and smaller. In addition, while in the 1990s, “the average fashion model weighed eight percent less than the average woman. Today she weights 23 percent less” and “most runway models meet the Body Mass Index physical criteria for anorexia,” according to PLUS Model magazine.
It is no surprise that Judy Scheel, Ph.D., executive director of Cedar Associates is concerned that society is encouraging young girls towards the development of eating disorders in response to this article, most commonly binge eating disorder or bulimia. As parents, we need to realize that no matter what we are modeling for our children, the media is also modeling an ideal body that is unattainable by the majority of the population and making it seem as appealing as possible.
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December 14, 2011
Jersey Shore star Snooki recently tweeted a number of pin-up worthy shots of herself looking awfully thin. The star admitted that she struggled with anorexia in the past, and we can’t help but worry that her rapid weight loss could be due to some less-than-healthy habits. It’s often said that people who are diagnosed with anorexia and similar eating disorders will struggle with the disease for the rest of their lives.
The four-foot-nine celeb once said that her goal weight is 85 pounds, which is the lowest weight that could be considered healthy for someone her height. This is also only five pounds more than her lowest weight in high school, which she admits was dangerous. We hope she’ll know when to stop for the sake of her health, although moderation isn’t something we associate with Snooki.
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Hoarding food is something that I talk about frequently in adoption preparation classes. It is common and to be expected that children who have not always had enough and not had parents to look out for their best interests would want to hide food for later. Parents need to be vigilant to clean out pockets so chocolate bars do not go through the wash, and clean up rooms to avoid rodents, insects, and rotting food. In cases of adoption, I encourage parents to be calm, avoid commenting on the behavior, and patiently wait for it to extinguish itself, which it will in the majority of cases.
There is less written about food hoarding in adults, although there is some written about older adults who hoard food, particularly those that have lived through the Great Depression. Primarily, hoarding food is a sign of anxiety surrounding the availability of food and sometimes it is a compulsion, something that one feels driven to do to ease anxiety. There is a slightly higher percentage of females than males that hoard food, and often the hoarder lives alone and is mostly socially isolated. Nearly three out of every four adults that hoard food do not believe that it is a problem.
Hoarding food is also a lesser discussed symptom of an eating disorder as well. It is most understood as a symptom of bulimia when a sufferer stashes away binge food items. Food hoarding can also be a symptom of anorexia, however. In the throes of anorexia, sufferers can become obsessed with food despite the fact that they will not allow themselves to ingest it. It can be comforting to anorexia sufferers to have food items available, especially if their body has transition into a starvation mode.
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Tracey Gold is a well known Hollywood name. She’s known for he long time role on the series Growing Pains but she’s almost just as well known for her public battle with anorexia. Gold was one of the first celebrities to go public with her disease in the 90’s and since has been an advocate for educating people about eating disorders. Taking that role to another level, Gold has recently debuted a show on Lifetime titled Starving Secrets with Tracey Gold. In the unscripted series, 
Gold works one-on-one with women struggling with eating disorders. The show is aimed at helping these women who are in life threatening situations, however, criticism has risen. Many fear that Starving Secrets, and shows like them, may do more harm than good.
In the dark world of eating disorders, like anorexia and bulimia, there seem to be a lot of secrets. The patients who struggle tend to be very reclusive and hidden. They basically have to be, because if the world saw what they were doing, someone might try and stop it. Critics fear that the show will provide more secrets for the afflicted to use, almost as if the show will become a new guide book or manual to further their disease. Professionals fear that while the show truly wants to help, it may inadvertently trigger viewers or even challenge those struggling to get competitive. For example, if the woman on the show is only eating 800 calories a day, the viewer may strive to only eat 500. Eating disorders are tricky and it’s very debatable what will help and what will hurt.
Brooke Randolph, a licensed mental health counselor, shared her thoughts about the show.“I agree with the other experts who are concerned that this may pose more danger than potential good. Those who suffer from eating disorders are often looking for new tactics and ideas to help them lose weight. The road to recovery is long and complicated, and it cannot be fully displayed in a single episode or even season. Ms. Gold likely wants to help others feel less alone in their suffering and make a difference to as many as she can. Unfortunately, like so many endeavors, the best of intentions can actually cause more harm than good.”
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I am generally fairly skeptical about self-help books, but I was very pleasantly surprised to read 8 Keys to Recovery From An Eating Disorder: Effective Strategies from Therapeutic Practice and Personal Experience by Carolyn Costin and Gwen Schubert Grabb. I am guessing they believe that simply using their names makes them more approachable to readers; however, it is clear that these are intelligent, educated, and experienced professionals. Perhaps I would have been less surprised by the expertise of this book if they had included their degrees and licensing (all those fancy letters after their names) on the title page.
By the time I got to the third key, I had stopped writing down highlights for this review because the value of this book is greater than than the sum of the eight individual keys. Not only do I believe this book can be extremely helpful to someone suffering from an eating disorder, but I believe it could be helpful for other practitioners who are not specialized in eating disorders in helping someone experiencing a mild eating disorder. (I still think it is important to refer to specialists for anyone suffering from a moderate to severe eating disorder.)
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