In the News
Extreme Weight Loss Measures Endanger Canada's Youth
TORONTO - January 29, 2002. As Eating Disorder Awareness Week approaches, (February 3-9, 2002), the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) views the disheartening prospect of failed New Year weight-loss resolutions leading to ever more extreme measures.
Just months after dire warnings that 15% of the frighteningly large number of 12- to 18-year-old girls in Ontario engaged in serious weight-loss behaviour are likely to go on to develop life-threatening eating disorders, the airwaves are again punctuated with stories and images glorifying weight loss. Thinness is proposed as the means by which to attain all good things: social and professional status; health and success in all areas of one's life.
Vanity is not the primary motivator of dieters. Rather, we have been sold the notion that self-control and the visible measure of that - thinness - will lead to a sense of self-fulfillment and, possibly even more desirably, the admiration and respect of others. Belief in this myth is ubiquitous, with studies showing that up to 80% of Canadian teen girls are dissatisfied with their bodies and "feel fat", even though they may be under or normal weight.
Failure of weight-loss treatments to live up to their promises has been well documented. Less well known to the public is the damage done by dieting to self-esteem and abilities to complete everyday tasks. Mood swings, fatigue and impaired concentration are common amongst dieters. The irony is that restrictive eating can lead to weight gain because of the way our bodies protect us from the ravages of famine, from which, to our bodies, diets are indistinguishable.
Combatting negative self-esteem and body image through information, education and healthy problem-solving is one of NEDIC's goals. "Unhealthy beliefs and behaviours around food and weight are so common that they are seen as normal. We try to help individuals move towards healthier attitudes and behaviours that sustain good health and personal vitality," says Merryl Bear, Director of NEDIC.
"Embracing life - intellectually, physically and spiritually - will hopefully lead to putting overall well-being, rather than an unattainable physical size, at the centre of our lives," comments Bear. In support of this philosophy, organisations and individuals across Canada will join in raising awareness of eating disorders and food and weight preoccupation during Eating Disorder Awareness Week, February 3-9, 2002.