This is the infamous quote that Kate Moss, a famous model, said when asked what her motto was during an interview and is used today by many young girls and women all around the world. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, 95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25. Not only are celebrities constantly emphasizing the need to be skinny, but it is starting to make way towards social media networks such as Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. The caveat here is that with social media networks becoming more popular and accessible, female populations of all ages are beginning to pose high importance on physical appearance. For example, Tumblr is a free blogging site in which members can set up an account and create their own blog but you do no need an account to view a certain blog. While browsing for these infamous "thinspiration" blogs, I stumbled upon a rather disturbing blog called Skinny Love, which holds pictures of gruesomely thin and bony female bodies and self-deprecating quotes. As I looked further, I found actual conversations between girls asking for tips on how to become anorexic. This is only one of thousands of pro-anorexic blogs that are out circuiting on the world wide web.
- An eating disorder is an unhealthy relationship with food that may disrupt many areas of a person's life, this being physical, emotional, or mental.
- Anorexia nervosa is the intense fear of gaining weight. A person with this condition will often restrict calories, eat specific foods, or skip meals.
- Bulimia nervosa is also associated with an intense fear of gaining weight, but a person with this condition may eat large amounts of food in a short period of time (binge) and then get rid of it by vomiting (purge).
- Binge eating disorder involves eating large amount of food to the point of feeling sick. This usually occurs in episodes in which the person feels like they cannot stop or control what they are eating.
What I want you to take away from this is not to look down upon those who worship these pro-anorexic blogs but do realize that this may end up snowballing into a big problem some day. Lend a helping hand. There are many support groups and associations such as End Fat Talk Campaign and many others that can help in doing so. We as future health professionals should be promoting healthy eating habits and use our knowledge to help those who may ill-informed or simply be there if they need a friend.
Good article. Food is something that we all need to survive and I think that is what makes it hard for those who suffer from eating disorders because they have to learn to have a healthy relationship with food. Being able to support anyone with an addiction or obsession of any kind can be the difference between life and death in some circumstances. Hopefully, as health professionals we will be able to make positive impact on those in our environment with the information we have. I have seen instances, where individuals in the health profession who struggle with their own image will teach one thing and model behavior that contradicts what they know is healthy.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your notion about having a healthy relationship with food, it is an excellent way of looking at it. And regarding the health professionals, that is just unbelievable. You would think that because health professionals have the education to support them, they would actually practice what they preach. It just comes to show that eating disorders do not discriminate and do not only affect those who are not educated in health and nutrition.
ReplyDeleteI love your topic and the support information that you provided. I have seen multiple times on the new social media websites the image with the quote saying “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” and it always makes me stop for a second and think. As a student in the Nutrition program it is hard for me to hear that the taste of food can be negatively associated with body image. In our world food does have a negative connotation with the rising obesity rates and the over eating phenomenon. However, quotes and images like this can effect our youth and support eating disorders that are already on the rise. I love the “End Fat Talk” campaign and I think everyone should do his or her part to get involved.
ReplyDeleteI love that more awareness is being brought to eating disorders and the need for healthy looking models in advertising. I personally am tired of seeing waif-like 15 year old selling anti-wrinkle creams. There has been way to much emphasis on being thin and not enough emphasis on being healthy. I think modeling agencies should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to go on for so long. If they would stop hiring only bone-thin models for their ads, there would be less demand for girls to starve themselves. My daughter came home last year from kindergarten and asked if she needed to go on a diet. I asked her why she asked such a thing. The reply I got was that some of the other girls in her class where complaining that they were "too fat" and needed to diet. These are already a very thin group of girls and it broke my heart to hear this starting at such a young age. I assured her that she did not and hope she continues to see her beauty in just the way God made her.
ReplyDelete“Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels” is an article with great information about eating disorders. I was fascinated with this topic because I was unaware of the pro-anorexic blogs out in the Internet and the different types of eating disorders. There should be more awareness about eating disorders because society has this idea that skinny is better. As mentioned in this article, many young girls and women all around the world use Kate Moss’ motto and that is shocking. In one of my Exercise and Wellness class, I watched a news clip about a teen boy who died of starvation. Body image is something on both men and women’s priority list and nothing is being done about it yet.
ReplyDeleteThe world of eating disorders fascinates me, and scares me. I went to high school that was filled with girls that had eating disorders and disordered eating. One of them was my best friend. She got help and is living a healthy life style now. But at the time what she went through was unreal, her eating disorder literally consumed her life and every thought. I looked at the pro-ana sites and sites that are essentially support groups to be better at being skin and bone. It blows my mind that sites such as these really exist. I hope that awareness of the problem continues to grow and more help becomes available to those who need it.
ReplyDeleteThis blog was really great! Its great to shine light on this huge disorder because it is effecting woman of all ages, and now even starting at an even younger age. This is definately scary. This is a hard topic because once a woman decides in her head that she wants to be skinny, she is going to go to any lengths to do it, even if it means starving herself. It starts with self esteem and I do think the media has a lot to do with it. I think the DOVE commercials are great and the end fat talk is great. We need to realize that all sizes are beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteI think your blog was great, and I think the topic is extremely important, especially among our age group. I am doing this topic for our health marketing campaign and have come across evidence that is shocking. It is so sad so see some of these statistics. I found one that says, “51% of women would rather be hit by a trunk than be fat.” I can’t agree with you more that we need to end fat talk. -Allie Goldstein
ReplyDeleteEvery time I hear that quote it makes me sad for all the girls who believe that. I have been overweight for as long as I can remember, but I have thankfully never had enough of a negative body image to develop an eating disorder. But I know a lot of people that I was friends with in high school had eating disorders, and quotes like this, along with the media, have encouraged them to continue hating their bodies. We need to stop talking about weight and start making girls feel beautiful, so they can start to see themselves as beautiful and loving themselves for who they are.
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