The last few weeks have seen a lot of action on the book tour front. I'll be traveling quite a bit to readings, events, and conferences to talk about Brave Girl Eating: A Family's Struggle with Anorexia.
I thought I'd post an up-to-the-minute calendar of where I'm scheduled to be so far, with more to come. You can also look for my schedule here. If you come to a reading, please introduce yourself! I look forward to meeting some of you while I'm on the road.
8/24: Appearance on Good Morning America, 7 a.m.?
8/25: Reading at Sheppard Pratt Center for Eating Disorders, Baltimore, 7-9 p.m. in the conference center
9/20 The Book House, Albany, NY, 7 p.m.
8/26: Appearance on the Diane Rehm Show, 10 a.m.-noon
9/24: Presentation/book talk, Lake Forest College, 10 a.m., Lake Forest, IL
10/1: Reading/book talk, University of Wisconsin, Room 1244, Health Science Learning Center, noon
10/2: Reading/book talk, Wisconsin Book Festival, 10 a.m., A Room of One's Own Bookstore, Madison, WI
10/4: Reading/book talk, Moline Public Library, 10 a.m. (subject to change in location)
10/4: Talk/reading, Quad Cities Eating Disorder Consortium training for therapists, 3 p.m., Moline, IL
10/10: Presentation with Dr. Walter Kaye, National Eating Disorders Association annual conference, 3 p.m., Brooklyn, NY
1/21: Presentation/book talk, Maudsley Parents conference, University of California San Diego, 11:30 a.m., San Diego, CA
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Poor Dr. Lundberg
Apparently Dr. George Lundberg is a little upset because back in 2004, he put forth his ingenious stop-obesity plan and it didn't work. And it didn't work, he tells us, because fat people just didn't listen to his plan, which is really simple and practical when you think about it. It consists of two words:
Stop eating.
Dr. Lundberg goes on to clarify what he means:
I did not say fast; I did not say starve. I said Stop Eating too much; stop eating high calorie snacks between meals, stop eating everything on your plate; stop eating such large portions; stop eating desserts; stop routinely eating bread and butter; stop eating three full meals a day when two are enough; stop eating fats and refined carbohydrates when you can eat fresh fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates.
And while you are at it, STOP DRINKING alcohol and sugary drinks.
I wonder if Dr. Lundberg understands anything at all about metabolism. If he did, I suspect he would not so angrily and aggressively put forth his diet plan--because that's what it is, a diet plan, one built on restriction. He would know that dieting, restricting, whatever you want to call it, ultimately makes people fatter, not thinner. He would show more sensitivity to the link between dieting (or restricting, etc.) and eating disorders. And I hope he would not so blithely recommend gastric "interventions," as he writes a few paragraphs farther down, which not only are often unsuccessful but which carry relatively high risks of death, infection, malnutrition, blood clots, and other consequences.
He writes rather plaintively, toward the end of his editorial, "A lot of obese people got really angry at me for hurting their feelings. But I don't really care that much, as long as we did get some people to adjust their eating and drinking behavior. STOP EATING and DRINKING EXCESSIVELY and STAY HEALTHY."
Tell me, Dr. Lundberg, what is "excessively"? To me it sounds like you think three meals a day is excessive. You think any amount of dessert is excessive. You think any amount of fats or refined carbohydrates is excessive.
Whereas actually, I think you're the excessive one. Your rules, restrictions, and most of all your rigidity and, yes, rage--what do these remind me of? Oh, yes, I remember. They remind me of the rigidity, rules, and rage of an eating disorder. You know, a lot of people think there's nothing wrong with having a little eating disorder, as long as you're not fat.
Those of us who have seen or experienced an eating disorder up close feel rather differently about that, of course. And I'll tell you what I think, Dr. Lundberg: I think you should confine your judgmentalism to yourself. You are free to eat and drink (or not eat and not drink) to your heart's content. You are free to manipulate your weight as much as you want.
And you're free to say whatever you want, of course, just as I am. But I hope to God, Dr. Lundberg, that you might educate yourself a little more before you spout off next time about obesity. I hope you'll talk to some people who know a little more than you about eating disorders and metabolism and all that complicated science-y stuff. I hope you'll talk to some families with children with eating disorders, and listen to them say their daughters and sons developed those eating disorders after middle school wellness classes that scared the crap out of them around being fat.
Until then, I hope you're not a practicing doctor anymore. I would hate to think of anyone I care about experiencing your judgmentalism, rigidity, and rage.
Stop eating.
Dr. Lundberg goes on to clarify what he means:
I did not say fast; I did not say starve. I said Stop Eating too much; stop eating high calorie snacks between meals, stop eating everything on your plate; stop eating such large portions; stop eating desserts; stop routinely eating bread and butter; stop eating three full meals a day when two are enough; stop eating fats and refined carbohydrates when you can eat fresh fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates.
And while you are at it, STOP DRINKING alcohol and sugary drinks.
I wonder if Dr. Lundberg understands anything at all about metabolism. If he did, I suspect he would not so angrily and aggressively put forth his diet plan--because that's what it is, a diet plan, one built on restriction. He would know that dieting, restricting, whatever you want to call it, ultimately makes people fatter, not thinner. He would show more sensitivity to the link between dieting (or restricting, etc.) and eating disorders. And I hope he would not so blithely recommend gastric "interventions," as he writes a few paragraphs farther down, which not only are often unsuccessful but which carry relatively high risks of death, infection, malnutrition, blood clots, and other consequences.
He writes rather plaintively, toward the end of his editorial, "A lot of obese people got really angry at me for hurting their feelings. But I don't really care that much, as long as we did get some people to adjust their eating and drinking behavior. STOP EATING and DRINKING EXCESSIVELY and STAY HEALTHY."
Tell me, Dr. Lundberg, what is "excessively"? To me it sounds like you think three meals a day is excessive. You think any amount of dessert is excessive. You think any amount of fats or refined carbohydrates is excessive.
Whereas actually, I think you're the excessive one. Your rules, restrictions, and most of all your rigidity and, yes, rage--what do these remind me of? Oh, yes, I remember. They remind me of the rigidity, rules, and rage of an eating disorder. You know, a lot of people think there's nothing wrong with having a little eating disorder, as long as you're not fat.
Those of us who have seen or experienced an eating disorder up close feel rather differently about that, of course. And I'll tell you what I think, Dr. Lundberg: I think you should confine your judgmentalism to yourself. You are free to eat and drink (or not eat and not drink) to your heart's content. You are free to manipulate your weight as much as you want.
And you're free to say whatever you want, of course, just as I am. But I hope to God, Dr. Lundberg, that you might educate yourself a little more before you spout off next time about obesity. I hope you'll talk to some people who know a little more than you about eating disorders and metabolism and all that complicated science-y stuff. I hope you'll talk to some families with children with eating disorders, and listen to them say their daughters and sons developed those eating disorders after middle school wellness classes that scared the crap out of them around being fat.
Until then, I hope you're not a practicing doctor anymore. I would hate to think of anyone I care about experiencing your judgmentalism, rigidity, and rage.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Guest post
Thanks to Amy L. Cambell for letting me write a guest post on her blog, A Librarian's Life in Books.
Campbell asked me to talk about why I wrote the book Brave Girl Eating: A Family's Struggle with Anorexia. I'm glad to have the chance to articulate it, to you as well as to myself.
Hop on over and visit Campbell's blog if you have a chance--I love supporting people who love books!
Campbell asked me to talk about why I wrote the book Brave Girl Eating: A Family's Struggle with Anorexia. I'm glad to have the chance to articulate it, to you as well as to myself.
Hop on over and visit Campbell's blog if you have a chance--I love supporting people who love books!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Distortions
When it comes to talking about eating disorders, there's no end to the distortions that often get trumpeted as "new." If you've had a loved one suffer with an eating disorder you know what I'm talking about. One of the things I teach my magazine journalism students is the fine art of taking a press release and turning it into a compelling and accurate piece of journalism. It's the toughest lesson we do all semester, which is no reflection on them. I think it's a challenging task to pull off, and very few news or public relations entities do it well.
To wit: This story from PR Newswire, whose headline trumpets "Mommy Not Always Dearest During Treatment for Eating Disorders." If you read only the headline and the first paragraph or two you'd come away with the idea that mothers were devastating, damaging, and destructive factors in their daughters' recovery from an eating disorder.
If you can force yourself past those first paragraphs, you'll be able to intuit a slightly more nuanced story. The family therapist quoted in the story, Catherine Weigel Foy, makes comments like "The mother-daughter relationship can be a complicated one." Um, yep. There's nothing particularly ground-breaking or earth-shattering in that statement. She goes on to say, "A mother's love begins before a child is born, and can create an unrealistic expectation that the connection between mothers and daughters will be as strong and free from limitations in adulthood as it was in early infancy."
I'll buy that, too, though perhaps I'm a bit more optimistic than Weigel Foy about the potential for good relationships between mothers and daughters.
Read down another paragraph or two and you find this:
Weigel Foy endorses an introspective look at this unique relationship and believes temporary distance from family members allows many adolescent and teenage girls to feel safe exploring the mother-daughter relationship in ways they haven't been able to during prior treatment for anorexia or bulimia. Weigel Foy and her colleagues at XX XX Residential Treatment Center work together to foster a nurturing environment that helps teen girls gain a realistic view of their relationship with their mothers. In turn, the girl and her mother are better equipped to support each other on their path to recovery.
Aha. Here, ladies and gentlemen, if we are attentive readers, the light bulb goes off. We understand that the piece we're reading isn't journalism at all but PR on behalf of XX XX Residential Treatment Center (I've deleted its name because I don't want to give it more publicity). Weigel Foy may be a good therapist or she may not; we really can't tell from this paraphrasing of her work in the service of publicity.
But certainly, the average reader will come away from the headline and opening paragraphs thinking, "Wow, this doctor thinks mothers are responsible for their daughters' eating disorder and/or get in the way during recovery."
Later in the piece, the writer concludes, "Through residential treatment and therapy this relationship can be explored and these young girls can come to better understand its affect on their diseases – and in turn help build a foundation for lifelong recovery." The mother-daughter relationship is being offered up as a reason to send your child to residential treatment.
Here I must point out that not only is there no evidence whatsoever that the mother-daughter relationship plays a causal or continuing role in eating disorders, but there is also no evidence whatsoever that exploring this relationship helps anyone get over an eating disorder. To the contrary: The most effective treatment for adolescent eating disorders is family-based treatment, which enlists the support of the family--mothers included--to help teens and young adults recover. And when I say "the most effective treatment," I am referring to real studies with real results, not one therapist's opinion (no matter how good she may be).
This kind of media deconstruction is important for everyone these days, as we're bombarded by information. But it seems to be especially imperative in the murky, vague, profit-seeking world of eating disorders treatment. Caveat emptor.
To wit: This story from PR Newswire, whose headline trumpets "Mommy Not Always Dearest During Treatment for Eating Disorders." If you read only the headline and the first paragraph or two you'd come away with the idea that mothers were devastating, damaging, and destructive factors in their daughters' recovery from an eating disorder.
If you can force yourself past those first paragraphs, you'll be able to intuit a slightly more nuanced story. The family therapist quoted in the story, Catherine Weigel Foy, makes comments like "The mother-daughter relationship can be a complicated one." Um, yep. There's nothing particularly ground-breaking or earth-shattering in that statement. She goes on to say, "A mother's love begins before a child is born, and can create an unrealistic expectation that the connection between mothers and daughters will be as strong and free from limitations in adulthood as it was in early infancy."
I'll buy that, too, though perhaps I'm a bit more optimistic than Weigel Foy about the potential for good relationships between mothers and daughters.
Read down another paragraph or two and you find this:
Weigel Foy endorses an introspective look at this unique relationship and believes temporary distance from family members allows many adolescent and teenage girls to feel safe exploring the mother-daughter relationship in ways they haven't been able to during prior treatment for anorexia or bulimia. Weigel Foy and her colleagues at XX XX Residential Treatment Center work together to foster a nurturing environment that helps teen girls gain a realistic view of their relationship with their mothers. In turn, the girl and her mother are better equipped to support each other on their path to recovery.
Aha. Here, ladies and gentlemen, if we are attentive readers, the light bulb goes off. We understand that the piece we're reading isn't journalism at all but PR on behalf of XX XX Residential Treatment Center (I've deleted its name because I don't want to give it more publicity). Weigel Foy may be a good therapist or she may not; we really can't tell from this paraphrasing of her work in the service of publicity.
But certainly, the average reader will come away from the headline and opening paragraphs thinking, "Wow, this doctor thinks mothers are responsible for their daughters' eating disorder and/or get in the way during recovery."
Later in the piece, the writer concludes, "Through residential treatment and therapy this relationship can be explored and these young girls can come to better understand its affect on their diseases – and in turn help build a foundation for lifelong recovery." The mother-daughter relationship is being offered up as a reason to send your child to residential treatment.
Here I must point out that not only is there no evidence whatsoever that the mother-daughter relationship plays a causal or continuing role in eating disorders, but there is also no evidence whatsoever that exploring this relationship helps anyone get over an eating disorder. To the contrary: The most effective treatment for adolescent eating disorders is family-based treatment, which enlists the support of the family--mothers included--to help teens and young adults recover. And when I say "the most effective treatment," I am referring to real studies with real results, not one therapist's opinion (no matter how good she may be).
This kind of media deconstruction is important for everyone these days, as we're bombarded by information. But it seems to be especially imperative in the murky, vague, profit-seeking world of eating disorders treatment. Caveat emptor.
Monday, July 19, 2010
New website
Here's a huge shout-out to my talented husband, photographer Jamie Young, who is creating a new website for me. Take a look and tell me what you think--your input welcome! I'll be posting some of the fall events I've got lined up for the Brave Girl Eating book tour in the days and weeks to come.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The book is coming, the book is coming . . .
There seems to be some buzz building for the Aug. 24 release of my new book, Brave Girl Eating: A Family's Struggle with Anorexia. I feel honored! And I wish I had galleys to send out to everyone who wants to read it. (My publisher would like me to say instead, "I wish you would all buy it!")
So I thought I'd post a link here to the incredible book trailer a student, Shelby Haddon, made for me last spring. It uses some of the material that opens the book.
In the weeks to come I'll post short excerpts from the book. Of course I wrote the book and I want it to find an audience. But beyond that, I want it to make an audience--people who don't know much about eating disorders except what they hear on the news or in magazines. Why should they care? Because chances are, someone they know and care about has an eating disorder but isn't talking about it. People feel shame and stigma about having eating disorders, and unfortunately the secrecy around them feeds the flames of that kind of stigma.
No more secrecy. No more stigma. I believe in telling the stories, true stories. People need to know and understand and empathize with what other people are going through.
Enjoy the trailer.
So I thought I'd post a link here to the incredible book trailer a student, Shelby Haddon, made for me last spring. It uses some of the material that opens the book.
In the weeks to come I'll post short excerpts from the book. Of course I wrote the book and I want it to find an audience. But beyond that, I want it to make an audience--people who don't know much about eating disorders except what they hear on the news or in magazines. Why should they care? Because chances are, someone they know and care about has an eating disorder but isn't talking about it. People feel shame and stigma about having eating disorders, and unfortunately the secrecy around them feeds the flames of that kind of stigma.
No more secrecy. No more stigma. I believe in telling the stories, true stories. People need to know and understand and empathize with what other people are going through.
Enjoy the trailer.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Looking for young adults with anorexia
Researchers at the University of Chicago, under the direction of Dr. Daniel le Grange (pictured, left), have just won an NIH grant to study family-based treatment (FBT, also known as the Maudsley approach) in young adults. If your family lives in the Chicago area, or within driving distance, you could get free treatment if you qualify for the study. Not to mention the chance to get some of the best treatment for anorexia in the country. It's a win-win!
Here are the study parameters:
This study is a good match for you if you are:
• 18 to 25 years old
• Meet diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa
• Are prepared to participate in assessments
• Interested in cost-free psychotherapy treatment with a family member of choice
Treatment involves up to 6 months of free individual and family therapy sessions.
For more information, please contact the Participant Coordinator at 773-834-9120 or visit University of Chicago here.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Michelle Obama: Starting to get it?
Maybe so, if this story from the Christian Science Monitor is to be believed.
The First Lady goes on record saying she "tries to stay away from discussions about weight with her daughters," focusing instead on health. Though I notice she's still willing to talk about weight with the rest of our daughters. And sons.
Well, change comes slowly. Good start, Mrs. Obama! I hope you'll keep listening as well as talking. And if you've got another place at the table for your September summit on childhood obesity, please count me in. . . .
PHOTO CREDIT: AP PHOTO/ED ZURGA
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
UC-SD is looking for research participants
One of my next posts is going to be a love letter to the team at UC-San Diego.
Meanwhile, if you live on the west coast and would like to participate in a brain imaging study there, please consider doing it. The folks at UC-San Diego, under the direction of Walt Kaye, are doing some of the most important cutting-edge work on the neurobiology of eating disorders. This is your chance to help them out, get a scan of your brain, and make a little money. Details are below.
RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS WANTED
In conjunction with Dr. Walter Kaye and his research team, Dr Amanda Bischoff-Grethe is seeking female participants between 12 and 18 years of age who have a recent (within the last six months) diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa. Qualified participants will be asked to answer questions regarding their personality and cognitive abilities and will also undergo a 1.5 hour brain imaging study. By participating in this research study you may assist physicians and researchers in developing treatments for these complex and serious disorders. You may be compensated up to $175 dollars plus mileage. For more information, please contact the UCSD Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Program at edresearch@ucsd.edu or the Research Coordinator, Zoë Irvine, at 858-246-0699. We look forward to working with you!
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Independence Day
July 4th is a time to celebrate freedom: freedom from tyranny, from oppression, from authority. These are concepts we typically think of in the context of politics. I've been thinking about a different kind of freedom this year: freedom from eating disorders.
The analogy is apt, though most people don't know it. Having an eating disorder is like being a slave, subject to the whims and demands and impossible expectations of a taskmaster well-versed in the art of punishment. When you have an eating disorder, you do what it says, whether that's to refrain from eating even though you're starting, or to purge every calorie you do eat, or to stay awake when you're exhausted (because you don't deserve to sleep/eat/live). Having an eating disorder is the very opposite of freedom. You're not free to choose when it comes to some of the most fundamental elements of your life.
Anyone who's had an eating disorder can tell you that it's not a choice. You are not exercising free will every time you stick your finger down your throat, or push away a plate. You're in the grip of an irrational tyrant who has no regard for your feelings, your health, your sanity.
So this July 4th, I'm thinking about everyone who's ever struggled with an eating disorder, who's felt the iron grip of tyranny around her throat, stomach, mind, and who is struggling to become free. I want you to know that you can become free. There is hope. There is life outside of the crushing oppression of an eating disorder.
And here's to it, and to you.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Project BodyTalk goes live!
After nearly a year of development and work, I'm pleased to announce that thanks to my fabulous graduate assistant, Megan Swann, we've got a website up and running for Project BodyTalk. I've been writing about eating disorders for a while now, and at some point I began thinking that it would be really fabulous to be able to hear the actual voices of people who struggle with EDs. I'm also a radio devotee and big fan of shows like This American Life and the StoryCorps project.
From these sources, Project BodyTalk was born. It's an audio project that collects commentaries on the subjects of food, eating, body image, and eating disorders. Here on the Syracuse University campus, we opened a recording booth for a couple weeks last fall and collected a number of commentaries from students, faculty, and community members who came up to campus to record. Since then I've had people send me mp4 and mp3 files. A couple of teachers at a high school in Baldwinsville had students record commentaries.
The first commentators were told to record a commentary anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes, on any related subject. Some people told stories about friends and family members struggling with body-related issues. Some talked about foods they love. Some talked about what it's like to be fat, or thin, to have anorexia or binge eating disorder, to feel pressured to look a certain way. It's turning into a wonderfully eclectic, diverse, and moving project.
So . . . the website is up and running with the first half dozen commentaries. Over the next few months I'll be editing and uploading more commentaries, and, I hope, collecting them too.
We've also got a page labeled ACT, where I'm posting links and descriptions of other body-positive projects. If you've got one to share, send me info, and I'll happily add yours to the page.
I'd love your feedback--and your commentaries.
*Image by Megan Swann.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Bring Brave Girl to your town!
I've started planning a book tour in earnest for BRAVE GIRL EATING, my memoir about our family's struggle to help our daughter recover from anorexia. My goal: To visit as many towns, especially university towns, as possible, and to get in front of as many pediatricians, doctors, therapists, and families as I can.
Here's where you come in, dear readers: I need your help arranging events in your town. I'm aiming to get on the schedule for university lecture and talk series, because I know this book will be of interest to both the scientific community (it's got lots of science and neurobiology for all you geeks, and I count myself among you) and to college audiences. The best way for me to make contact with folks around the country is through someone who's already in the community and who can broker an introduction and help me connect with the right person.
I'd love to come speak in your town, at your university, in your state--hell, in your doctor's office. So if you can help please let me know. My email addy is harriet at harrietbrown dot com. Tentative schedule to come in the next few weeks, I hope!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Are you a size-accepting fat woman?
If so, please consider helping grad student Micheala Null, a doctoral student in sociology at Purdue University, by taking a brief study and potentially doing an interview. Details are below.
*********************
Call for Participants
Hi, my name is Michaela A. Null, and I am a doctoral student in Sociology at Purdue University. I am doing a study about the embodiment of size-accepting fat women, with attention to the ways in which gender, race, sexual orientation, and
body size intersect.
I am currently looking for individuals who are interested in volunteering to participate in my study. If you are interested in volunteering to participate in an interview, I ask that take an electronic informational survey, which will take approximately 5 minutes. Please go here and complete the informational survey. After all survey data has been collected, participants will be selected for interviews, which will be conducted in-person, by phone, or via internet chat, and will last between an hour and an hour and a half.
Participation is voluntary and participants must be at least 18 years old.
This project has been approved by my university’s Institutional Review Board, which protects human subjects of research. I will provide confidentiality to all volunteers and participants will be referred to by a pseudonym in all research documents.
If you have any questions regarding this study, you can contact me at mnull@purdue.edu. For more information on me, you can access my university profile here.
You can also contact Professor Eugene Jackson, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Purdue University, at jacksone@purdue.edu.
Sincerely,
Michaela A. Null
Doctoral Candidate
Instructor for Women's Studies
Purdue University
Department of Sociology
700 W. State Street
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2059
*********************
Call for Participants
Hi, my name is Michaela A. Null, and I am a doctoral student in Sociology at Purdue University. I am doing a study about the embodiment of size-accepting fat women, with attention to the ways in which gender, race, sexual orientation, and
body size intersect.
I am currently looking for individuals who are interested in volunteering to participate in my study. If you are interested in volunteering to participate in an interview, I ask that take an electronic informational survey, which will take approximately 5 minutes. Please go here and complete the informational survey. After all survey data has been collected, participants will be selected for interviews, which will be conducted in-person, by phone, or via internet chat, and will last between an hour and an hour and a half.
Participation is voluntary and participants must be at least 18 years old.
This project has been approved by my university’s Institutional Review Board, which protects human subjects of research. I will provide confidentiality to all volunteers and participants will be referred to by a pseudonym in all research documents.
If you have any questions regarding this study, you can contact me at mnull@purdue.edu. For more information on me, you can access my university profile here.
You can also contact Professor Eugene Jackson, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Purdue University, at jacksone@purdue.edu.
Sincerely,
Michaela A. Null
Doctoral Candidate
Instructor for Women's Studies
Purdue University
Department of Sociology
700 W. State Street
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2059
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Check the Huffington Post . . .
for my response to the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity.
Add your comments, please. I'm sure there will be plenty of the wrong kind up shortly.
Add your comments, please. I'm sure there will be plenty of the wrong kind up shortly.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Kudos to the eating disorders work group on DSM-V
for deciding not to make obesity a disease in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
This decision has significant ramifications for how docs treat and to some extent see obese patients. I'm a big proponent of changing the dialogue around obesity from a discussion of weight to a discussion of health. The two are not synonymous. I'm also hoping this will stop bariatric surgeons from marketing their surgeries as eating-disorder treatments, for instance.
The group also recommended changing criteria for anorexia and bulimia:
• Now patients must weight 85% of ideal body weight or less for a diagnosis of anorexia; in future, if the changes go through, the criterion will be "restriction of energy intake [leading to] markedly low weight." This rightly shifts the emphasis from the rigid weight characteristic to a pattern of eating and relationship with food. Now insurance companies will have a harder time cutting people off from treatment once they hit 86% of ideal body weight.
• Loss of menstrual period is no longer one of the criteria for anorexia. Some women never lose their period, no matter how thin they get; others keep menstruating even at very low weights.
• Bulimia will be diagnosable with purging episodes of once a week; right now, the criterion is two episodes a week.
• Binge eating is likely to become a diagnosable eating disorder.
This decision has significant ramifications for how docs treat and to some extent see obese patients. I'm a big proponent of changing the dialogue around obesity from a discussion of weight to a discussion of health. The two are not synonymous. I'm also hoping this will stop bariatric surgeons from marketing their surgeries as eating-disorder treatments, for instance.
The group also recommended changing criteria for anorexia and bulimia:
• Now patients must weight 85% of ideal body weight or less for a diagnosis of anorexia; in future, if the changes go through, the criterion will be "restriction of energy intake [leading to] markedly low weight." This rightly shifts the emphasis from the rigid weight characteristic to a pattern of eating and relationship with food. Now insurance companies will have a harder time cutting people off from treatment once they hit 86% of ideal body weight.
• Loss of menstrual period is no longer one of the criteria for anorexia. Some women never lose their period, no matter how thin they get; others keep menstruating even at very low weights.
• Bulimia will be diagnosable with purging episodes of once a week; right now, the criterion is two episodes a week.
• Binge eating is likely to become a diagnosable eating disorder.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
New film: Fat
A filmmaker named Jennifer Jonassen sent me a link to this trailer for a new documentary, FAT, due out later this year. I think it looks pretty interesting. What do you think?
Saturday, May 01, 2010
"You're so fat!"
The car was a beat-up sedan crammed with college kids--guys--who had clearly started their Saturday night partying on Saturday afternoon. My husband and I were out for a short three-mile bike ride. I heard the guys yelling and carrying on from a block away, and I knew they would yell something at me. And they did.
"You're so fat!"
As I pulled up alongside my husband, he asked, "What did they say?" When I told him, his jaw dropped.
"I can't believe they would say something like that!" he fumed.
I could. And as I told him, it didn't bother me all that much. I'm used to it. Guys have been yelling things at me since I was 15. Like any woman, I've learned to tune it out. It's a power trip, a form of misogyny, a reminder that women are vulnerable to men in a variety of ways.
Still, I thought about it all the way home. It reminded me of the way boys at my junior high school used to drop pennies on the ground, and yell "Kike!" at anyone who picked one up. And with that recollection, I realized viscerally, profoundly, and in a deeply emotional way that what those guys in the car were doing has a name: hate speech.
And although I've been thinking and writing and talking about this subject for years, I think this was the first time I truly got it in a fundamental way. And that is something I'll be thinking about for weeks to come.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Book trailer
A very talented student at Newhouse, Shelby Hadden, created this trailer for my forthcoming memoir, BRAVE GIRL EATING: A FAMILY'S STRUGGLE WITH ANOREXIA. Isn't technology great?
Let me know what you think.
Let me know what you think.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
One more reason NOT to get bariatric surgery
Bariatric surgery--the practice of deliberately mutiliating the gastric anatomy in order to lose weight--is being pushed harder than ever these days. The latest claim: it cures Type II diabetes instantly.
Not so fast. Apparently the issue is more nuanced than that. Researchers at the University of Washington recently found that people whose fasting blood glucose levels came down after having the surgery were still spiking diabetes-level glucose levels after meals.
The money quote:
"I don't think the procedure cures whatever it is that's causing diabetes in the first place," said Arthur Chernoff, MD, chair of endocrinology at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, who wasn't involved in the study.
SHocking, isn't it? Fat may not be the only cause of diabetes.
In fact, the weight-diabetes link is one of doctors' strongest arguments against fat acceptance and health at every size. Bariatric surgery is very serious business--and I mean that in both senses of the word. It's a multimillion-dollar industry based on the premise that it's a good idea to take out part of your guts--forever. Once you've had the surgery, your body is unable to process nutrients the way it used to. You may or may not become thin (some people lose weight only to regain it after); you may or may not experience some of the serious complications of the surgery; you will be permanently malnourished.
And now you may not have an instant cure for Type II diabetes after all. Because the equation may be a bit more complex than fat = bad, thin = good.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Bravo to Gawker
That sound you hear? It's me clapping for this tell-it-like-it-is piece from Gawker, which deftly skewers the mainstream media's not-so-hidden obsession with thinness.
My favorite quote:
The purpose of working out is get in shape. Not to get "thin." To be in shape, for the average person, connotes being healthy, and improving on the basic elements of one's own fitness: muscular strength, endurance, cardiovascular, flexibility, etc. . . . designing a workout and nutrition program with the goal of being thin will almost certainly ensure that you cannot achieve a high level of fitness; you would eat a low-calorie diet, thereby robbing yourself of muscular gains.
Note that I deleted a sentence or two in here. Even Gawker falls prey to the knee-jerk obesity-is-bad syndrome. (We really have to have a chat about that, Nick Denton.) But it's not so easy calling out the Gray Lady herself on the assumptions and obsession with thinness. So kudos to Gawker, and Hamilton Nolan, who wrote this post. Let 'em know what you think.
My favorite quote:
The purpose of working out is get in shape. Not to get "thin." To be in shape, for the average person, connotes being healthy, and improving on the basic elements of one's own fitness: muscular strength, endurance, cardiovascular, flexibility, etc. . . . designing a workout and nutrition program with the goal of being thin will almost certainly ensure that you cannot achieve a high level of fitness; you would eat a low-calorie diet, thereby robbing yourself of muscular gains.
Note that I deleted a sentence or two in here. Even Gawker falls prey to the knee-jerk obesity-is-bad syndrome. (We really have to have a chat about that, Nick Denton.) But it's not so easy calling out the Gray Lady herself on the assumptions and obsession with thinness. So kudos to Gawker, and Hamilton Nolan, who wrote this post. Let 'em know what you think.
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