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In Diane Keaton's memoir, Then Again, she writes that when she was 19, a Broadway director offered her a part in the Broadway musical Hair — on the condition she lose 10lbs. She developed an eating disorder. "I don't think it was called bulimia then," she tells People. "It was just this trick you could do. It's a horrible problem. Ugly and awful." More »
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I am thirteen and at my first comic/sci-fi expo. I'd had no idea what to expect, and I'm stressed out. The place is packed, and everything seems to be anime and everything seems to cost money. It's the height of Dragonball-Z's popularity in New Zealand and there are Gokus competing in Kah-me-ha-me-ha competitions in the hall. There are signings by people from Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, two more things I'm not into. There is the ubiquitous Xena stall. The Lord of The Rings won't come out till later this year. More »
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Here are some plates that say, respectively, "Big mistake," and "It's hard to be around you when you eat like this / Did you really need that second helping? / Please stop eating, we're worried about you / For the love of God, stop eating." Perfect for your next concern-trolling dinner party! More »
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A new study of adolescent eating disorders in the U.S. finds that they are far more prevalent than previously believed, and that the gender gap between male and female adolescents was far smaller than previously found. The study has the largest sample size of any previous study of its kind, and is the first population-based study to include the full adolescent age range — over 10,000 teens aged 13 to 18. More »
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A UK Channel 4 series called Lily Allen: From Riches To Rags focuses on Lily quitting touring and opening a clothing store with her sister. Lily, who miscarried six months into her pregnancy, says: "It was a really long battle — and I think that kind of thing changes a person." The singer also discusses her unhealthy relationship with her body. "I used to vomit after meals. It's not something I'm proud of. But, I tell you what, a lot of people came up to me telling me how great I looked and I'd be on the cover of every magazine. thought I looked good and it was great to be able to try on clothes and feel a million dollars. But I wasn't happy, I really wasn't. I would love to be the skinniest minniest person in the world but I can't do that without being unhappy - I like food." She adds: "I'm a pop star, not a model. Don't make me feel shit for not being really skinny and having an eating disorder." [Daily Mail, Channel 4] More »
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We already knew that those suffering from eating disorders had distorted body images, but apparently that manifests itself literally. When researchers asked women to draw themselves, they found that those suffering from anorexia or bulimia tended to draw themselves with different characteristics: no feet, larger mouths and thighs, and necks that were either larger, disconnected or missing. This could be a useful tool in diagnosing those women who are at risk for ED. More »
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Facebook, TV, even education — recently it seems like almost everything kids and their families do increases the risk of eating disorders. Herewith, a tour of some of the things that reportedly contribute to ED — and what we may be able to learn from them. More »
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Another day, another story about something bad Facebook does to kids. Today's finding: it may contribute to eating disorders. More »
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As hospitalizations for eating disorders increase, so does the price of treatment. Some programs now cost around $30,000 a month. A month! That's enough to buy a car, or your first year of law school (state school only). More »
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Yesterday on Oprah, Portia de Rossi discussed her battles with anorexia and bulimia that climaxed while starring on Ally McBeal with other exceedingly thin actresses. However, she didn't acknowledge the effect the casts' unspoken competitive dieting had on female viewers. More »
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This weekend, girls ages 14-22 will talk sexualization versus healthy sexuality — including Aleah Starr, an eating disorder survivor whose Projection project pushes back messages projected on girls' (and guys') bodies. Here, some arresting images from past efforts. More »
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A new study indicates that the brain shrinkage experienced by anorexic patients is actually reversible. Much of the gray matter lost while starving returns within weeks of beginning to eat normally. Scientists are unsure whether this effects cognition. [LiveScience] More »
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The New York Times Consults blog answers an odd question today — whether someone with an eating disorder will sometimes try to keep a spouse fat. More »
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Lisa Hilton, an Oxford-educated writer, thinks we should all stop worrying and learn to love the size-zero model. More »
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The American Psychiatric Association is reconsidering the category of Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, which is diagnosed more often than anorexia or bulimia. Now if only they could do something about judgment. More »
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Tonight, Discovery Health will air the documentary I'm Pregnant And... I Have An Eating Disorder. In a preview from GMA, Beth Jones struggles to eat enough for her unborn child, even when doctors tell her the baby is too small. More »
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The Los Angeles Times is taking a very interesting in-depth look at binge eating this weekend, asking a question that the American Psychiatric Association has yet to answer: is binge eating truly a psychiatric disorder? More »
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New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni makes a living eating. So it's both disturbing and encouraging to learn, in this excerpt from his memoir Born Round that his early years were plagued with weight struggles, self-loathing and eating disorders. More »
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Is Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson's young adult novel about anorexia and bulimia, a dangerous trigger for eating-disordered readers, a thoughtful examination of a terrible disease, or both? We read it to find out. [Spoilers follow.] More »
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Depressing - but really fascinating - piece on the reported decrease in sexual function and libido apparently resulting from eating disorders. [Feministing via Fox] More »
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On International No Diet Day came this heart-wrenching account of a teen's death from bulimia. More »
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On this morning's GMA, eliminated Australian Miss Universe contestant Stephanie Naumoska denied accusations that she is too thin. Then Diane Sawyer held up a plate in order to judge Naumoska's idea of a moderate portion. More »
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• This Russian ad for Duet ice cream has been slammed for its racist overtones. In addition to featuring a strange caricature, the ad (insultingly?) calls the chocolate/vanilla bar the "flavor of the week." • More »
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A restaurant in Berlin caters to a group with very special needs: recovering anorexics. More »
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In today's Washington Post, Joanna Chakerian discusses her three-year battle with bulimia, which she claims was triggered by someone close to her: Her mother. More »
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A new study has found that women with bulimia are more impulsive than their peers, and the hardwiring of their brains may be to blame. More »
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The stereotype of those suffering from eating disorders is often that they're incredibly private, going to great lengths to hide their disordered behavior. But according to Newsweek, many teen anorexics are using Facebook to flaunt their extreme thinness. Dr. Steven Crawford, associate director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt in Baltimore, tells Newsweek that these Facebook admissions are a form of rebellion: "It's almost like putting it in your face: I have an eating disorder. I am anorexic." The girls who are part of these online covens of disordered eating say they're simultaneously cries for help and a way to justify their behavior. More »
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Last week, Dodai wrote about an upsetting article in the new issue of Teen Vogue, in which one reader quipped, "I can't help but look down on my friends when they give in to temptations like pizza or ice cream." And as someone who struggled with an eating disorder for over five years, I can tell you this: I can't help but feel sorry for people who make statements like that. Last week happened to be my 5-year recovery day. On September 9, 2003, I checked in to an intensive inpatient ED unit, in a wheelchair, with barely anything left of my body or my brain and a heart rate of 43 beats per minute. Four months later, I walked out happier, healthier, and scared to death. More »
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One in five men are extremely unhappy with their body image, and the number of men with anorexia or bulimia is on the rise, according to Dr. John Morgan, a leading British eating disorder specialist. Men make up 15 percent of eating disorder sufferers in official estimates, but the number doesn't take into account men who compulsively exercise because the definition of illness focuses on women. Morgan says media images of male beauty, slim but muscular guys with six-pack abs and big arms, are part of the problem. "It's completely unhealthy, and to achieve that sort of shape you've got to be either working out for hours in a gym, making yourself sick, or taking certain kinds of illegal drugs." [BBC] More »
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Participation in sports is generally thought to improve self-esteem and promote a healthy body image. But according to a recent study, undergraduate women who participate in sports and exercise regularly are actually more likely to exhibit eating disorder behaviors than women who don't. The problem is even more pronounced among women who participate in the more prestigious levels of athletic competition (for example, a top female soccer player is more more likely to have an eating disorder than someone who plays Ultimate Frisbee with her friends on the weekend): Researchers say that women who experience higher anxiety about their athletic performance are even more likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies and suffer from eating disorders. More »
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Remember that deputy Prime Minister who resigned two years ago with Tony Blair only to resurface a year and a half later with a memoir about his decades-long struggle with bulimia? The British press sure does! And while coverage of this confession has generally fallen into the category of "merciless mockfest", an interview in the latest British Esquire convinced me he was doing bulimics of the world a service. Because while writing about your eating disorder isn't really a British thing to do, John Prescott's method of dealing with his eating disorder is kind of hilariously British, starting with the way his wife caught wind of the problem: she noticed symptoms she'd learned about from Princess Di. Which is, of course, the grand irony: the kids all assume eating disorders are the path to looking like Di and Nicole Richie when, ha ha ha, Prescott pukes his food too! Herewith, John Prescott's Stiff Upper Esophagus Guide To To Coming To Terms With Your Puking Problem, culled from Esquire. More »
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Today I saw one of the most disturbing clips I've ever seen on television, courtesy of the Tyra show. It featured a 19-year-old anorexic named Cassie, who weighs 85 lbs and, as her disease would dictate, believes that she's fat. Cassie takes drastic measures to lose weight, like taking 35 laxatives at a time, chewing on paper, and eating cotton (the latter two, she admits, she learned to do by reading "pro ana" sites). When she does actually eat food, she only allows herself 150 calories a day. (She used to eat dirt, but then stopped because she was afraid of "dirt calories.") Because years of purging have ruined her gag reflex, she can no longer vomit, so instead, she sticks a feeding tube down her throat and suctions food out of her stomach. Even Tyra, who has undoubtedly seen a whole lot of disordered eating in her life working as a model, was beyond shocked. Clip above. More »
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The revelation that former British Deputy Premier John Prescott was a raging bulimic who liked to wash five-course banquets down with a few cans of Carnation sweetened condensed milk, and a Big Mac takeout Lo Mein chaser reminded me of ...well, it reminded me how happy I am to have shaken some old habits because I was always terrible at puking, but it reminded me of a topic I have been wanting to discuss for awhile now: At Some Point Men Started Having Worse Eating Issues Than Us. From Prescott to this guy I know who just got one of those incomprehensibly huge book advances to write a memoir about his "andgoyny" i.e. manorexia to at least three out of four of my ex-boyfriends, eating disorders are officially a Dude Thing, and I'm glad we're coming to terms with this as a society because I am frankly sick of all those closeted manorexics thinking no one is onto them. More »
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In this very special 420 episode of Pot Psychology, Rich and I are joined by a magical guest: Jambi the genie! (A virtuoso portrayal by StreetCarnage.com's Gavin McInnes.) He gave us aid(s) in tackling life's everyday issues, including dildo chew toys for dogs, Mormon weddings and large black cocks. Got a burning question? Send it to tips@jezebel.com with "Pot Psychology" in the subject line. (Please keep them short; they're verrrry hard to read when stoned.)
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The roommates of the Bad Girls Club aren't getting along, so on last night's episode, they decided to throw a slumber party. The girls arranged for a stripper, some parlor games, and, much to recovering bulimic Andrea's chagrin, tons of junk food. After dealing with the stress of bullying and fighting in the house, she couldn't take it anymore, and went to the bathroom to purge. (To be fair, we think those other girls might make us puke too.) Clip above. More »
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The Italian government is investing $1.5 million in an country-wide campaign against eating disorders. Says Giovanna Melandri, minister of youth and sports who is overseeing the campaign, "[What the government seeks to do is] to make sure young people, young girls and young boys, know that they can die" from eating disorders. Special efforts are being made to target the media, schools, and (no shocker to anyone who still has their Capezios) dance teachers. We wonder whether that the photo of a nude Carla Bruni somehow figures in to all of this. [San Francisco Chronicle] More »
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An episode of Intervention aired last night that featured a very sick family. Caylee is a 21-year-old who is addicted to heroin and cocaine, and also has had an eating disorder since she was a young girl. It seems as though the entire family blames her body issues on her mother Christy, who has suffered from various eating disorders of her own — a combination of anorexia, bulimia, and excessive exercise — for the past 35 years. When Caylee was about 8 years old, Christy let her know that she was getting pudgy and began policing the food she ate, guilting her into avoiding French fries, and instilling in her a fear of food and body fat that she's struggled with her entire life and turning her to hard drugs. The family arranged an intervention for her, but when interventionist Jeff VanVonderen got a load of Christy, he decided that she needed to be in treatment as well. Clip above. More »
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Bad news: The numbers of children with food and body image issues are on the rise, reports Fox News. 68% of elementary school teachers are concerned about eating disorders in their classes. 80% of preeteen girls are dieting. Those who diet are 8 times as likely to develop an eating disorder. 81% of ten year olds are afraid of becoming fat and over 50% of nine and ten year olds say they feel better when dieting. A treatment facility for women suffering from anorexia and bulimia opened a branch for girls under 13 two years ago and is seeing patients as young as seven years old. There's a lot of talk about the obesity epidemic in this country, but clearly there's also something else going on. [Fox News, 5 Resolutions] More »
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In some Orthodox Jewish sects, women must wear sleeves past the elbow and skirts (never trousers) past the knees. Slits are verboten (those are for harlots!): kick pleats need only apply. Married women must always cover their heads; most shave their hair off and wear wigs. You'd think with all this covering up, many would have a healthier body image. You'd think wrong! Jewcy.com points us to a Jewish Daily Forward article about anorexia and bulimia among some Orthodox women. According to the Forward, a possible reason for eating disorders amongst ultra-religious Jews is the practice of arranged marriage. "Very often, young men looking for brides in the Orthodox community call a girl's parents and ask for her dress size." If it's over a size 8, says the Forward, she may be headed for spinster city. More »
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