Kirsten Haglund's mother never thought she'd see the day that her daughter would be crowned as Miss America. In fact, just five years ago, Kirsten was so sick that her family's only focus was getting her healthy.

"From the time she was little, [Kirsten] wanted to be a ballerina... But it was her beloved ballet that triggered an eating disorder. While at a ballet camp as a 12-year-old, [Kirsten] realized she didn't have the typical dancer's body: short torso, long legs, and thin, thin, thin."

She decided to go on a diet, but it quickly turned obsessive. She was 15-years-old before she and her parents took her disorder seriously. After a year in therapy, she is recovering - but she admits that every day is still a battle. She has started the Kirsten Haglund Foundation to promote the message, "Love Your Body. Rock the World." and she intends to continue raising awareness about the dangers of eating disorders. Source: Belleville News - Democrat (IL)

Labels: awareness, dangers_of_eating_disorders

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Ali Michael started modeling when she was 15 years old. At the time she weighed 128 lbs.; which wasn't bad for her five-feet-nine-inches frame. But after repeated negative comments at fashion shows she began to lose weight, eventually dropping to 100 lbs. And her menstrual cycle stopped.

"She confides how she was sitting with four girls at a show in Paris last year when she mentioned she had not had a period for over a year, 'and one by one each of them said "me too."'... Having been dragged to a doctor and nutritionist by her worried mother, she began eating healthily and her menstrual cycle returned to normal, but her catwalk career appears over."

Casting directors have told her that her legs are "too plump" though she currently only weighs 106 lbs. Michael hopes that, by sharing her story, she's put the spotlight on the fashion industry's unrealistic expectations, and that young girls will realize the dangers of aspiring to be "super-thin." Source: The Guardian - United Kingdom

Labels: modeling, dangers_of_eating_disorders, expectations

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Maude LeClerc, a 14-year-old Florida high school freshman, wanted her fellow students to understand both the prevalence and dangers of eating disorders. So she invited former Miss Florida, Allison Kreiger, in to speak about her non-profit organization H.O.P.E.

"...H.O.P.E., or Helping Other People Eat, [is] a nonprofit organization that works to prevent eating disorders and help pay for treatment for teens who otherwise couldn't afford it."

Kreiger, who struggled with both anorexia and bulimia in high school, founded H.O.P.E. seven years ago; Le Clerc is a junior board member. Krieger estimates that she has spoken to more than 25,000 students since creating the organization. Source: Sun-Sentinel

Labels: awareness, prevention, dangers_of_eating_disorders

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Pamela Keel, of the University of Iowa, recently completed research on a little-known eating disorder simply known as purging. Purging is different from bulimia, in that women with purging disorders don't binge-eat. Despite that, they feel the need to purge, even if they've only eaten a small amount of food.

"The dangers of purging disorder are similar to those of bulimia: psychological problems, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances that can affect the heart and kidneys, and potential dental problems because of self-induced vomiting."

Keel conducted research from 2001 to 2005, during which time she studied three different categories of women: those with bulimia, those with symptoms of purge disorder and those with no eating disorder at all. If continued study supports purging as a separate disorder, it could cause the American Psychiatric Association to revise its eating disorder criteria, which could help doctors to adequately screen for purge disorders.

Labels: awareness, purging, dangers_of_eating_disorders

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Laxatives are common ammunition in the weight loss arsenals of people with eating disorders. The belief is that a stimulant laxative like Ex-Lax speeds up weight loss by purging food (and the accompanying calories) from the body quickly. Not only is that untrue, but the misuse of stimulant laxatives can severely damage one's body.

"Damage to nerve endings in the colon is also a very real concern because these nerve endings are what the body relies on to excrete waste from the body. If the stimulant laxatives render these nerve endings useless, then the result could be a total loss of control over bowel movements and even leaking of the rectum. Taking extra laxatives to try to resolve this problem could permanently damage nerve endings."

Because stimulant laxatives work on the colon, which is at the end of the digestive system, most calories have already been absorbed. So the use of laxatives not only increases, dramatically, a person's health risks, but the desired result (purging of food and calories before they're absorbed into the body) is medically impossible. Read more online.

Teen drug and alcohol abuse can be symtoms of a larger issue. Find out more at DrugRehabTreatment.com.

Labels: dangers_of_eating_disorders, health_care, long_term_effects

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