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:. Eating Disorders, Our Society And The Media
:. Is The Media To Blame?
:. Hollywood - Eating Disorders and Body Image
:. Models And Eating Disorders
:. Famous Sufferers - Celebrities With Eating Disorders
:. Male Celebrities With Eating Disorders
:. In Memory Of...
:. Body Image Reality Check

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Eating Disorders, Our Society And The Media

There is enormous pressure in our society to look a certain way - to be thin and beautiful. The majority of women and girls are dissatisfied with their bodies. Many no longer enjoy food because society and the media makes them feel guilty for eating and they take extreme measures in an attempt to change their bodies. Eating disorders seem to have become a woman's way of escaping the daily pressures of life.

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Is The Media To Blame For Eating Disorders?

The media unquestionably promotes dieting and size discrimination but it is a lot more complex than blaming the media.

The media shows images of models with 'perfect' bodies and women are constantly being told that they must have a slim and trim figure.

Women are becoming more and more unhappy and dissatisfied with their body weight and shape.

In order for them to achieve the impossible goal to look like the thin models and actresses in the media, they put their health in serious danger.

The media provokes profound dissatisfaction in the female population but does not necessarily cause eating disorders.

The media is not wholly responsible for eating disorders but does play a major part and definitely encourages eating disorders.

We have to keep in mind that eating disorders are not simply about food and weight but are an attempt to use food and weight to deal with emotional problems.

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Hollywood - Eating Disorders and Body Image

In the celebrity world there seems to be an unwritten rule about the female body: If you want to be successful, you have to be skinny - and the more skinnier you become, the more famous you will get.

In the last decades, we have seen many female actresses go from healthy curvy figures to skinny bony bodies.

"How can women be as thin as we are? We have personal trainers to work us out. We have specially prepared meals."
— Sarah Michelle Gellar

"I've been told that if I lose weight I'd have more work, but I refuse to submit myself to Hollywood standards. To the rest of the world I am slim and I like the way I am."
— Liv Tyler

"A lot of these girls who spend so much time trying to be skinny - it's boring and they don't make people feel good about themselves... I refuse to become part of this perfect-body syndrome. I like my body."
— Salma Hayek

"Be yourself, and that will make you more beautiful than anything."
— Jamie-Lynn Sigler

"People at the record label were telling me that I needed to lose weight. The song [In This Skin] is saying that I am worthy to feel beautiful in my skin. It's something that every woman experiences in one way or another."
— Jessica Simpson

"It's important to teach people not to feel like they have to fit a certain body image. Overcoming an eating disorder myself has made me prouder than selling millions of albums."
— Paula Abdul

"For me, it might sound cliche, but beauty for me really does start on the inside. It's like a state of mind, a state of love if you will. Then, whatever you can do on the outside is all like a bonus."
— Queen Latifa

"I'm happy with the way I am. I'm not like American film stars. I'm naturally curvy. This is me, like it or lump it. People think that if a woman isn't rail-thin, then there must be something wrong with her - it's such nonsense." ... "More than ever now, I believe it's so important to look as real and true to life as possible, because nobody's perfect. I seem to be on a mission, but I don't want the next generation, your daughters and mine, growing up thinking that you have to be thin to look beautiful in certain clothes. It's terrifying right now. It's out of control. It's beyond out of control."
— Kate Winslet

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Models And Eating Disorders

Even though her life looked glamorous from the outside,
inside she was a physical and emotional mess.
She was a depressed and lonely girl with an eating disorder.
The vomiting and laxative abuse made her very sick.
Overwhelmed by the pressures of the fashion industry,
she used food as a way to deal.

Models in fashion magazines have continued to get thinner and thinner and the average woman model's weight is about 15 to 20% lower than what is considered healthy for her age and height.

Many Models use drastic methods in order to stay thin and eating disorders are not uncommon. In addition, for some it is not uncommon to have plastic surgery done. Rumour has it that some even had removed ribs to make their waist smaller.

In addition, the pictures of the models that we see in the magazines are not real - they have been airbrushed (digitally removing cellulite, wrinkles and spots, evening out uneven skin tone, making hips smaller and legs longer - just to mention a few) before going in print. No one, not even models, looks that good without help! Want proof? Please go to the following links to see some "Before" and "After" pictures... powerful Step-by-Step demonstration of the retouching of a magazine cover.

Beating Laxative Abuse

Czech top model Petra Nemcova was once so desperate to lose weight, she went on extreme diets and regularly used laxatives. She admits struggling with her weight in order to be skinny to be booked for catwalk jobs. "I went through so many diets in my life. I’ve been very, very skinny. I’ve been a size zero but I’m naturally more curvy."

She told America's Self magazine, "I began taking them (laxatives) at the end of 2002." ... "Like many models, I'd been told I needed to lose 10 pounds, and even though I was getting a lot of positive feedback about my appearance, I wanted my stomach to be smaller." ... "Now I treat my body with the respect it deserves. There's so much suffering in the world, I don't want to inflict more on myself for no reason."

Skinny Models are Dying...

Uruguayan supermodel Luisel Ramos died in 2006 from anorexia-induced heart failure while participating in a fashion show during Fashion Week in Montevideo, Urugay.

Luisel felt ill after the catwalk, fainted on her way to the dressing room and died in spite of the medical attention she received from a mobile hospital unit.

She died at the age of 22.

Luisel's death was one of the main reason why Spain initiated the ban on super thin models on the runway in September 2006.

Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston died in 2005, at the age of 21 of kidney failure due to anorexia.

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Famous Sufferers -
Female Celebrities With Eating Disorders

Singer Ashlee Simpson (sister of singer and actress Jessica Simpson) has publicly admitted that she battled with an eating disorder during her pre-teen years. "When I went to ballet school, I was around a lot of girls with eating disorders, and I actually had a minor one myself. But then my parents stepped in and made me eat."

Actress Jessica Alba, has been quoted as saying, "I got obsessed with it. A lot of girls have eating disorders and I did too. I got too thin. Now, I am concentrating on being normal."

Actress Christina Ricci (who also admitted to cutting herself in the past) has commented on her anorexia by saying, "I had a brief flirtation with anorexia and when I was recovering from that, I put on a lot of weight, which was very difficult for me."

Singer Katharine McPhee, American Idol runner-up, struggled with bulimia while auditioning for American Idol in 2005. She suffered from an eating disorder for 6 years, since she was 17 years old. Afer her audition was successful, Katharine decided to get help. "My bulimia was really getting out of control." She enrolled at Los Angeles's Eating Disorder Center of California, where she spent three months undergoing group and individual therapy six days a week. "There is a solution for eating disorders. And not just eating disorders, but addictions. You are able to over come it and I think that asking for help is the first step."

Dancer, choreograph and singer Paula Abdul (American Idol Judge) battled bulimia and decided to check herself in a clinic, back in 1994. "It is one of the toughest things to talk about, bar none, and it is one of the hardest disorders to deal with because it's not black or white. Eating disorders really have nothing to do with food, it's about feelings."

Singer Kelly Clarkson suffered from bulimia when she was younger.

American Idol judge, Kara Dioguardi, has revealed that she suffered from an eating disorder when she was younger. "I actually went into a treatment centre for it." ... "It was definitely that excess eating to kind of just stuff all the emotions down ... I really was a creative kid who didn't know she was creative and didn't have those outlets because I was always afraid to join the theatre group and not perform." ... "The moment I started doing music, the moment I did what I loved to do in my life and committed to it, I don't have those problems anymore ... I have my outlet." ... "I have that form of expression. I can go to the studio and talk about my feelings."

Actress Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) battled both bulimia and anorexia from her teens into her 20s.

'Reba' actress Scarlett Pomers spoke openly about her battle with anorexia and road to recovery on the Tyra Banks Show in February 2006. Now, Scarlet is a spokesperson for The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA).

Princess Diana struggled with an eating disorder and also admitted that she used to self-harm herself.

Singer Melanie Chisholm (Melanie C - former Sporty Spice from the Spice Girls) publicly admitted suffering from an eating disorder and depression. Throughout the time she was in the "Spice Girls", Melanie alternated between starving herself and excessive exercise.

Actress Sally Field struggled with an eating disorder in the past. Sally began her three-year battle with anorexia and bulimia at the age of 20. "Everybody then was Twiggy, except me."

Former 'Ally Mc Beal' actress Courtney Thorne-Smith battled an eating disorder. Her slide into anorexia led her to quit the television show 'Ally Mc Beal'.

Former 'Ally McBeal' actress Portia de Rossi opened up about her experiences with eating disorders.

Top fashion model and actress Carrie Otis starved herself for about 17 years and nearly died in her quest for thinness. Today, she is healthy and trying to educate other women about the deadly dangers of eating disorders. "I had been on this insane diet for almost 17 years to maintain the weight that was demanded of me when I was modeling. My diet was really starvation. I am not naturally that thin."

Singer and actress Brandy was secretly struggling with an eating disorder, ""It was destroying me, but I looked great and that is what mattered. And it was crazy". Today she is healthy and most recently gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl.

Actress Alexandra Paul (Baywatch) struggled with an eating disorder in the past.

Canadian singer Alanis Morissette has admitted that she has struggled with anorexia and bulimia between the ages of 14 and 18 when she was trying to break into the music business. She wrote the song "Perfect" (from Jagged Little Pill album), inspired by her eating disorder recovery.

Sharon Osbourne has confessed she has been suffering from bulimia for 30+ years.

Comedian and author Joan Rivers battled bulimia for years.

Canadian singer Biff Naked suffered from anorexia in the past.

Singer and songwriter Fiona Apple became anorexic after being raped outside of her mother's home at the age of twelve. She says she was not anorexic out of a desire to be thin, but as a reaction to being raped. She also admitted to having self-injurious behaviours in the past.

Actress Audrey Hepburn struggled with anorexia and depression - which was unknown to the public during her career. She was known to lose weight under pressure and to be "strange" about food.

Anna Freud (Sigmund Freud's daughter), who was also a psychotherapist, documented that she struggled with anorexia when she was younger.

Crown-Princess Victoria of Sweden admitted to struggling with anorexia and came to the U.S. for eating disorder treatment.

Actress Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Pearl Harbor) struggled with an eating disorder during her teen years, before she decided to start acting.

Model Christine Alt (Carol Alt's sister) developed an eating disorder under the pressure to slim down from modeling agencies and clients. "I think that half the women in this world who are plus-size would not be if they never went on a diet."

Actress and voice talent Yeardley Smith (the voice of Lisa Simpson on "The Simpsons) suffered from bulimia for years.

Vocalist, pianist and song writer Vanessa Carlton suffered from depression for many years and also struggled with an eating disorder. "I became obsessed with my diet and with working out. I convinced myself I was just following a regimen, but when l threw up for the first time, I got scared." Today, Vanessa is healthy and supports mpower a web resource for teens struggling with depression that focuses on how music can help you overcome rough times. "Having dealt with depression on a personal level, I know how alone and alienated once can feel. Fortunately, you are not alone. Life can be better. mpower can help. What's great about the site is that if you're uncomfortable telling your parents or friends how you're feeling, you can still get information online."

After winning her fight with an eating disorder, Halie Loren released her first solo album, Full Circle. She struggled with an eating disorder for years, during which she was also pursuing her music career.

Model Crystal Renn was discovered at the age of 14 by a model scout and told to lose weight if she wanted a career in the modeling world. As a result of her weight loss and the pressure to stay slim, Crystal developed an eating disorder. She was obsessed about what she ate and overexercised. Today, Crystal is healthy again and works as a plus-size model and is more successful than ever before. Crystal also talked on the Trya Banks show, with the topic "The Dark Side Of Modeling", about her struggles with an eating disorder and the pressure she felt to stay slim.

Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund struggled with an eating disorder in the past.

Austrian Empress Elisabeth, better known as 'Sisi' (1837-1898), who was also a poet and musician, was known for her beauty and was obsessed with her looks. She suffered from anorexia and overexercised. Over a period of decades she developed strategies for weight reduction such as fasting rituals, gymnastics, hour-long horse-riding and forced marching. Numerous documents repeatedly describe her considerable fear of weight gain and the psychopathological changes specific for anorexia nervosa. Up to her death, she was stabbed to death with a file in a pointless act at the age of 60 by a madman in Geneva in Switzerland, she succeeded in restricting to a minimum not only her body weight but also her social obligations. The documents on the life of Empress Elisabeth suggest that cultural, historical and psychodynamic factors play an important role in the genesis of this disorder.

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Famous Sufferers -
Male Celebrities with Eating Disorders

There are many female celebrities who have come out into the open with their eating disorder struggles, but there are only a few male celebrities coming forward and going public about their struggles with an eating disorder.

Silverchair lead singer Daniel Johns suffered from an eating disorder and went public about his struggles with anorexia. In the song "Ana's Song" (from Neon Ballroom album), Daniel talks about his experience with an eating disorder.

Actor Billy Bob Thornton has been open about his weight issues and went public with his struggles with anorexia, which he developed after losing weight for a role.

Actor Dennis Quaid spoke out about his battle with anorexia in the mid-1990s which he developed because he had to lose some weight for a role in a movie. "My arms were so skinny that I couldn't pull myself out of a pool. ... For many years, I was obsessed about what I was eating, how many calories it had, and how much exercise I'd have to do."

Actor Matthew Perry (Friends) was battling an eating disorder in the past.

Musician Richey James struggled with anorexia.

Former Coronation Street actor Adam Rickitt struggled with bulimia at the age of 16. "I was frightened and doing my best to keep it a secret." "I used food to escape depression. After just 5 months, my bulimia had taken over my life. My weight had plummeted, I looked absolutely awful. I constantly wore a scarf to try and cover up my gaunt face."

Fitness and diet guru Richard Simmons suffered from an eating disorder in the past.

Singer and actor Adam Ant (one of the most charismatic and revolutionary pop stars of the 1980s) struggled with manic depression, battled anorexia and had suicidal tendencies.

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In Memory Of...

Sadly, many sufferers don't survive their battle.

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Body Image Reality Check

• The models we see in magazines are not real - the pictures have been airbrushed (digitally removing cellulite, skin folds, wrinkles, lines, freckles and blemishes, evening out uneven skin tone, making hips smaller and legs longer - just to mention a few). No one, not even models, looks that good without help!
• Body features in the media are enhanced with props, lighting angles, and computer techniques.
• Body features from photos of different people are combined to create the "perfect" image.
• Photo images can be completely computer generated to fit the look of the day.
• "Body doubles" are common in movies when body parts of lead actors don't measure up to the "perfect" image.
• The average woman in the U.S. wears a size 12-14.
• Marilyn Monroe - considered the sex symbol of all times - wore a size 12-14 and was 5 feet and 5 inches tall.
• Nowadays, models weigh up to 20% less than what is considered normal for their height and age.
• There are 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only eight who do. (quote from The Body Shop ad campaign from 1997)
• If Barbie were a real woman she wouldn't be able to walk properly and would have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
• 80 to 90% of eating disorders begin with a diet.
• 90% of individuals diagnosed with eating disorders are female.
• One out of ten patients with eating disorders are male.
• One out of every four college-aged girls struggles with an eating disorder.
• There are five times as many people with bulimia as with anorexia.
• About 50% of people who have been anorexic develop bulimia or bulimic patterns.
• 70% of eating disorders last longer than five years, with almost one quarter lasting more than 15 years. (Canadian Health Network)
• Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
• Without treatment, up to 20% of people with serious eating disorders die. With treatment, that number falls to 2-3%.
• The number of people suffering with an eating disorders has doubled since the 1960s. (Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
• The resolution of an eating disorder is not just a matter of willpower. Experienced help is needed to overcome an eating disorder.

The BIG lesson: Don't compare yourself with what you see on television or in magazine. Embrace yourself the way you are!

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Eating-Disorder-Information.com is sponsored by "You Are Not Alone (Vol 1 + 2) - The Books of Companionship for Women with Eating Disorders" - inspiring collections of personal recovery stories, poems and artwork from women who are either in strong recovery or fully recovered.

Recovery really IS possible!

For more information, visit www.youarenotalonebook.com
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Life without the eating disorder really IS possible!

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