Tag Archives: eating disorders

Dr. Oz Interviews Anorexic Women on the Brink of Death

Dr. Oz ditches all his surprising tips for health and fun animations for a very serious topic. The Dr. Oz Show will be interviewing anorexic women who are on the brink of death in today’s episode, “ Women take drastic measures to be thin.”

Dr. Oz will be interviewing a 31-year-old woman who weighs 73 pounds and survives by a feeding tube. The doctor will also hear her husband’s plea for help as the two try to lead her out of anorexia.

Dr. Oz will also speak with a woman who has turned to anorexia as a method to lose the weight she does need to lose. She has currently lost 70 pounds through anorexia and admits, “I need to lose weight and this is working.” (more…)

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Lacy

Size Six is The New Plus Size

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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Posted on January 20, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

Is Snooki Still Struggling with an Eating Disorder?

snooki in bathing suit 2011

December 14, 2024

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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Posted on December 26, 2023 by Health Buzz

Understanding Food Hoarding as a Symptom of Anxiety

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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Posted on December 23, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Can Eating Disorder Reality Shows Do More Harm Than Good

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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Posted on December 11, 2023 by Lacy

We Love 8 Keys to Recovery From An Eating Disorder

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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Posted on September 29, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Kate Middleton’s Photoshopped Image Doesn’t Help Eating Disorder Rumors

There will be no grazie to Grazia Magazine who recently photoshopped Kate Middleton‘s already thin frame down to waif size for their Royal Wedding edition cover.

After months of denying any alterations to the photo, Grazia finally admitted that the too-skinny result was a Photoshop accident. The magazine defended itself, saying there were no solo images of Kate leaving Westminster Abbey in her Alexander McQueen gown so a photo of the new couple had to be altered. Grazia editors photoshopped Prince William out of  the photo, forcing them to copy over another arm for her and inadvertently making her appear smaller.

“[Grazia] would like to reassure all our readers that we did not purposely make any alternations to the Duchess of Cambridge’s image to make her appear slimmer, and we are sorry if this process gave that impression,” an apology statement read in the magazine.


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Posted on August 22, 2023 by Jamie

Rumors That Kate Middleton Has An Eating Disorder Unhelpful

There have been rumblings and rumors recently that Kate Middleton and her sister Pippa may have eating disorders. Perhaps these rumors have been prompted by the fact that their pictures have been posted to pro-ana and pro-mia websites as thinspiration. So many parallels have been drawn between Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Princess Diana, who struggled with bulimia, that I am not surprised.

It is extremely common for us to be attracted to someone like one of our parents, which includes mental health struggles or irrational thinking patterns. It would not be surprising for Prince William to be attracted to similarities to his mother that he sees in Kate, including those things that might make her susceptible to an eating disorder. However, it could be a very dangerous message for the public to think that in order to be chosen by royalty one must have an eating disorder.

It was well publicized that Kate was working out prior to her wedding, just like most other brides. Her parents own a successful business and her in-laws are royalty, so it is not surprising that she would be able to dedicate a significant amount of time to working out and looking her best for her wedding. Losing weight prior to a wedding is not really enough to accuse anyone of having an eating disorder.

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Posted on August 1, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Tracy Anderson Admits to Wanting An Eating Disorder

Tracy Anderson is again shocking people with her less than responsible statements, reminiscent of what I read in her book Tracy Anderson’s 30-Day Method: the Weight-Loss Kick-Start That Makes Perfection. Fitperez recently published the following quote from Anderson: “After my parents divorced when I was 17 my mum worked three jobs so I could come to New York and train to be a ballet dancer. But I didn’t make it – I got too fat and couldn’t shift the weight.”

“I tried everything short of an eating disorder – which I really wanted to have, actually.” As Fitperez points out, it sounds like, even as a seemingly healthy adult, she is regretting not having an eating disorder.

One interesting point raised about this statement by Kelly Turner, a Seattle-based ACE-certified personal trainer and professional health and fitness writer, is that “this proves that you can’t just wish an eating disorder into existence, you have to be predisposed and then often times something, like stress or extreme change, brings it to a head.”

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Posted on July 28, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Weight Loss Surgery Can Trigger Eating Disorders

Many who have struggled with their weight for a lifetime look to weight loss surgery methods like gastric bypass or the lap-band procedure to solve their weight problems. While these types of surgeries are successful for some people, many others still struggle after their operation.

For those with underlying psychological food issues, weight loss surgery can trigger other eating disorders. According to a 2024 Harvard study, 60 percent of all individuals seeking surgical treatment for obesity suffer from an eating disorder, usually binge eating.  Those that have a previously unhealthy relationship with food and their body are at a higher risk of succumbing to other eating disorders after their operation.

Lap band and gastric bypass surgeries don’t typically create an eating disorder if there wasn’t previously one there. The major problem is that some who have these unhealthy food relationships have either left them untreated, or been unsuccessful in treatment prior to surgery. For binge eaters, the body cannot physically handle binge eating after surgery.

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Posted on July 1, 2023 by Descygna

Yoplait Pulls Ad In Response to Eating Disorder Controversy [VIDEO]

Responsibility in advertising is not a theme that seems to be common these days. However, when Yoplait was told by the National Eating Disorders Association that a new commercial could be a trigger for those vulnerable to eating disorders, Yoplait worked quickly to get the television spot removed from the air. A Yoplait spokesperson stated that Yoplait “had no idea” such a response might be triggered by the ad.

In Yoplait’s defense, the inner monologue of the dieter represented in the ad is similar to how many try to bargain with themselves when they are learning to balance calories in and calories out. It is also an illustration of how unplanned food can wreak havoc on any dieting plan.

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Posted on June 20, 2023 by Brooke Randolph