2008 Woodie Awards
Break free from your bodycage
Heather Waxman, Collegian staff
Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: Arts & Living
Living in a fast-paced, media-obsessed world where pin-thin celebrities and fad diets incessantly dominate headlines, disordered eating seems almost inevitable.
A recent, groundbreaking survey issued by Self magazine disclosed a shocking revelation: A whopping 65 percent of women are disordered eaters and another one in 10 suffer from eating disorders.
This sparks yet another spine-chilling realization: 75 percent of American women think and act abnormally around food.
Banishing carbs, skipping meals, and other symptoms of extreme dieting are often considered to be normal behaviors by women, but in reality, they only add fuel to the fire.
Though disordered eating does not possess the potentially fatal outcomes of ful-blown eating disorders, it can still cause considerable physical and emotional harm, says Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., in a recent interview with Self.
Bulik, director of the eating disorders program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and partner in Self's survey, found that women who are disordered eaters tend to fall into one or more of six categories: calorie prisoners, secret eaters, career dieters, purgers, food addicts, and extreme exercisers.
Disordered eaters are inclined to fall into more than one of the classifications and, if they refuse to face their issues, are likely to teeter-totter between categories over the years.
Calorie prisoners, the most common category of disordered eaters, are terrified of the notion of gaining weight and are likely to have a rigid mindset, tracking their caloric intake and strictly viewing food as good or bad. If these women indulge in a food they consider to be "off-limits," typically those higher in fat and carbohydrates, they experience supreme amounts of guilt.
A 35 percent of women are secret eaters. It is typical for them to binge on junk food at home or in the car - wherever they will not be found out. In extreme cases, secret eaters may claim they have already eaten in order to avoid a night out to dinner with close friends, opting to stay home and eat in seclusion.
A recent, groundbreaking survey issued by Self magazine disclosed a shocking revelation: A whopping 65 percent of women are disordered eaters and another one in 10 suffer from eating disorders.
This sparks yet another spine-chilling realization: 75 percent of American women think and act abnormally around food.
Banishing carbs, skipping meals, and other symptoms of extreme dieting are often considered to be normal behaviors by women, but in reality, they only add fuel to the fire.
Though disordered eating does not possess the potentially fatal outcomes of ful-blown eating disorders, it can still cause considerable physical and emotional harm, says Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., in a recent interview with Self.
Bulik, director of the eating disorders program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and partner in Self's survey, found that women who are disordered eaters tend to fall into one or more of six categories: calorie prisoners, secret eaters, career dieters, purgers, food addicts, and extreme exercisers.
Disordered eaters are inclined to fall into more than one of the classifications and, if they refuse to face their issues, are likely to teeter-totter between categories over the years.
Calorie prisoners, the most common category of disordered eaters, are terrified of the notion of gaining weight and are likely to have a rigid mindset, tracking their caloric intake and strictly viewing food as good or bad. If these women indulge in a food they consider to be "off-limits," typically those higher in fat and carbohydrates, they experience supreme amounts of guilt.
A 35 percent of women are secret eaters. It is typical for them to binge on junk food at home or in the car - wherever they will not be found out. In extreme cases, secret eaters may claim they have already eaten in order to avoid a night out to dinner with close friends, opting to stay home and eat in seclusion.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
David P. Morrow
posted 5/09/08 @ 9:40 AM EST
Good article. Weight loss needs to be addressed with a balanced and most importantly a realistic approach.
Forget about extremes.
An honest assessment of a person's current state needs to be followed up with some realistic goals, a set plan of action, with an absolute intention to stick with the plan. (Continued…)
Lisa Claudia Briggs, MSW, LICSW
posted 5/09/08 @ 8:30 PM EST
I work with eating disordered women and teens- although the Self article divided those with disordered eating in to various categories, I believe the emphasis on the eating behavior still misses the boat. (Continued…)
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