"Normal" is a unique musical that peers into the dark, destructive world of eating disorders. Written by Yvonne Adrian, with lyrics by Cheryl Stern, the off-Broadway play opened in 2005.

Anorexia is not a common topic for a play, much less a musical, but [Artistic Director Chase Kniffen] and the cast of seven provide an open, in-depth and intimate view of the subject as well as the dynamics of the Freeman family as mother, father, daughter, and son struggle to come to terms with the layers of dissonance that would drive a young girl to starve herself ... [Source: The Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch]

"Normal" doesn't offer a fairy-tale ending or magical solution. Though the question "Why?" is asked, it is never answered. The play is raw and real -- perhaps too real for some -- but it does an excellent job of educating the audience and exposing a disorder that is often kept hidden in the shadows.

Labels: anorexia, education, eating_problems, broadway

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Researchers at Saint John's University in Minnesota have found that teenagers may use vegetarianism as a cover for eating disorders. The study appears in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

In a research venture called Project EAT-II: Eating Among Teens, [nutritionist Ramona] Robinson-O'Brien and her team surveyed 2,516 young Minnesotans, ages 15 to 23. ... Approximately 20 percent of the vegetarians turned out to be binge eaters, compared with only five percent of those who had always eaten meat.

The survey also found that 25 percent of the vegetarians admitted to engaging in extreme weight-control measures like taking diet pills or forcing themselves to vomit. Though some teenagers do become vegetarians in an effort to eat better or to protect animals, parents should be attentive to symptoms that may indicate an eating disorder.

Source: Dallas Morning News

Labels: teenagers, causes of eating disorders, teens, eating_habits, eating_problems, vegetarians

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Research published in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing found that 18 percent of teenagers admit to having an eating problem. The findings were the results of two health surveys completed a year apart by the same group of teenagers.

"...we noticed that students who reported suffering from anxiety earlier in adolescence were 20 times more likely to have ongoing eating problems,' says Lea Hautala of the Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic at the University of Turku, Finland."

The survey also found that students who were dissatisfied with their appearance developed recurring eating disorders only if they also struggled with anxiety. Source: Huliq

Labels: anxiety, body_image, eating_problems

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