I was shocked to learn while doing research for this interview for Foodie Talk with Chef John and Anne on Blog Talk Radio that 80% of all 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat. I would have guessed the number was high, but never would I have guessed it to be that high. This is disturbing and speaks volumes about a problem in our culture that obviously goes much deeper than any of us probably realize!
For some time now, I have had in mind to interview a childhood friend of mine, Julie Edwards, about her battle in college with anorexia, an eating disorder that affects millions of women and a much larger number of men than you may think. The statistics on eating disorders are alarming, and all parents need to be well informed on how to help their children lower their risk for developing an eating disorder.
More Statistics
Here are a few more statistics that may surprise you:
- 13 million Americans binge eat
- 10 million American women and 1 million men battle anorexia or bulimia
- Eating disorder related hospitalizations increased 119% from 1999 to 2006 among children under 12 years old
- 42% of all 1st through 3rd grade girls want to be thinner
- The more time spent on social media websites by adolescent girls, the greater the likelihood they will develop an eating disorder
- Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental health disease in America
These statistics are from the National Eating Disorders Association, as shared on an infographic found on CNN Health.
Julie’s Story: Part 1
We divided my interview with Julie into three parts. In part 1, she shares the basic story of her battle with anorexia and compulsive exercising, which actually started out as an effort on her part to lose a few pounds and just get healthier. She also shares how she ended up in treatment and what that process was like for her, as well as the question of whether or not following treatment it is something she struggles with day to day.
Part 2
Part 2 includes discussion about:
- The drastic impact on Julie’s health that her eating disorder caused
- The various factors that contributed to the development of the eating disorder for her
- The role the culture and Hollywood plays in the development of body image for women
- The problem with the constant focus on dieting and exercise to lose pounds rather than a focus on a healthy balanced diet that is best for each individual and that will look differently for each individual
- A powerful message for young girls and women about body image
NOTE: We had some technical issues during this episode and planned to publish the transcript of the rest of that show here (it was only the last couple of minutes), but we also had technical issues with our blog over the past few weeks so have been unable to get that published. It will be available here as soon as we are able to get a transcript!
Part 3
Part 3 includes the last of Julie’s interview and some discussion about questions that came to mind as she and I were talking that we had not planned! Here are the highlights and a photo of Julie with her beautiful family:
- How Julie’s experiences with an eating disorder have affected her parenting
- More about her struggle with infertility that resulted from the eating disorder
- The role Julie sees fathers playing in the development of her daughters’ self esteem and body image.
- A message for parents who may have concerns about their child in regards to these topics
- A message for those who are trying to become healthier through diet and/or exercise and red flags indicating it may be crossing a line into an unhealthy obsession that can lead into an eating disorder.
For a complete list of all previous episodes of Foodie Talk with Chef John and Anne, click here.
Resources
Several resources were mentioned during this interview, and I wanted to make them easily accessible for you:
This is the facility where Julie received her first step of intense in-patient treatment that she credits, along with her faith and prayers of family and friends, as being foundational to her successful recovery. Please visit their website for more information.
The above is an Amazon slideshow of 3 books discussed during this interview with Julie and one not discussed but that came to mind as Chef John talked in the intro to Part 3 that every little girl wants to be a princess. It provides a lot of insight, from a Christian perspective, into how girls were designed by their Creator.
If you hover over any of the images, you will see more details about purchasing the book via Amazon, such as price and customer rating.
Disclosure >> This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase through them The Saturday Evening Pot receives a small commission for referring you to Amazon for the purchase. You still get Amazon’s competitive pricing and you help support this blog and our time and efforts to provide the recipes and other content you enjoy while you are here. In addition, you support the work of The Spoon Foundation… you can read more about that here.
About the Author
Adopted at age 2, grew up in the Charlotte, NC area. Obtained Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Appalachian State University. Loves being a Mom of two and taste-testing Chef John's culinary creations and sharing them with readers.
wow, this is crazy. I had no idea.
Isn’t it? I never realized the stats were this mind-blowing either!
Thanks for reminding adults of how high the risk is! One thing I’d like to say, based on my experience as a girl and what I heard from today’s girls in 6 years as a Girl Scout leader, is that it’s much more helpful to emphasize healthy eating, exercise, and healthy body image than to warn of the dangers of eating disorders. My Girl Scouts were happy to cook nutritious meals and take hikes, and they were very encouraging to each other when anyone expressed worry about her size or appearance…but when another leader began to speak about how media representations can lead to eating disorders, the girls started saying things like, “When I hear that TV *makes* girls want to be thinner, then I feel like I’m *supposed* to worry about my weight, because I watch TV,” and, “When I see a photo of a girl riding a bike, I think about myself riding a bike. Am I supposed to be wanting to look exactly like that girl?” They felt disturbed by the idea that media “make girls want” certain things and therefore if they were not feeling those wants, maybe there was something wrong with them. That’s exactly the kind of anxiety we want to avoid! I remember feeling something like that myself-that eating disorders were very trendy and discussed constantly, so maybe in order to be “normal” I *ought* to be constantly battling anorexic urges. As a naturally thin person, too, I actually struggled with my self-image because of all the well-meaning statements about how it’s okay not to be thin; I kind of felt like being thin was wrong. Sigh! It’s easy to go overboard. My point is, I think positive approaches are more helpful than warnings.
Good point, Becca! This type of discussion among parents/adults is very important to be having and it’s good to see things from the perspective of their age group as well. What you are talking about is actually addressed by Julie in Part 3 where she discusses how her experiences have affected her parenting and very specifically when it comes to development of healthy eating practices and body image. Thanks for sharing your insight!!
Thank you for all this information. I have granddaughters that are very young and this makes me worry that they need to be carefully watched and help to understand why eating healthy is so important.
It is so sad to hear that young girls are struggling with their weight. I am really at a loss for words.
Thank you for sharing Julie’s story! Sadly, as childhood obesity rates continue to climb, I think the future of eating disorders among adolescents will continue to get worse as well. As parents, it’s so important to focus on being healthy as opposed to being a certain weight or look and to build the self-esteem of our children.
Thanks for sharing Julie’s story. As a former elementary teacher I couldn’t believe how young the kids were when they began disliking their body images.
I think this is such an important topic. As an educator, it breaks my heart to see the self-image issues that a lot of young women have due to society. It’s important to support positive self image in our young girls.
I often worry that my own body issues will lapse over to my girls. I am trying to fix them with myself now before the girls get older. Thank you for sharing this.
80% is outrageous but I instantly thought back to my daughter (she’s 14 now), and I think 10, maybe 11 was when I started hearing “I’m fat,” out of her mouth (which she’s not). I think it’s such a shame that we listen to strangers for norms and ideals when their norms and ideals have nothing to do w/real life in so many cases. My daughter wears a size 2, sometimes size 3 pants,and I still hear her say from time to time that she thinks she’s fat. I hate it.
It’s so sad that eating disorders have become so so common our perception has become wrong of just what is ‘normal’ (thank you photoshop) and it is having such worrying adverse effects.
Thank you to Julie for sharing her story.
The statistics is very sad.. it is important for the parent to keep watch what their children eats, making sure that they’re eating healthy food.
Sounds very interesting!
I had no idea that kids that young even thought of being fat. I guess I just never thought about it when I was a child. I guess now, with all the internet and tv, kids see more than I did when I was young. They see how slim and trim many of the singers and actresses are.
Who would have thought that? I sure didn’t. I didn’t realize that it started as early as age 10. Thank you for bringing awareness to an issue that most people don’t like talking about.