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The Prevalence of Eating Disorders
And what role do we play in feeding them?
Recently, I attended a party for a dear friend. It was a well-attended gathering and a wonderful chance to reconnect with old friends. However, I was gravely concerned at how many women were alarmingly thin. This wasn’t “Oh, I have started to do Pilates thin.” This was “Is this person chronically ill, or do they have an eating disorder?”-thin. I know people can lose weight for many different reasons, often stress, so I tried to keep an open mind. But there were just so many of them.
While I normally can find humor in everything I write about, this piece is different.
Eating disorders are no laughing matter.
Equally disturbing was the number of people who commented on these women’s weight to say how great they looked. Really? Do you genuinely think her sunken cheeks look “great”? Or are you at a loss as to what to say? I remember learning in grad school that it is often best not to comment on the appearance of someone with an eating disorder at all, unless it is in private with a close friend to share your concern for their health.
Is this part of the problem, I wondered. Are we, as women, reinforcing the disordered eating with our effusive praise?
