According to Wired magazine, chewing too much gum can have a laxative effect and cause dramatic weight loss. Given that most weight-loss drugs have a difficult time producing one-pound per week weight loss, you might think the scientists would trumpet these findings as a prelude to the newest blockbuster pharmaceutical. But sadly, the drop in […]

Filed under: Eating Disorders, Food, Health, Magazines, Tidbit | 12 Comments »

Seventeen has launched the Body Peace Project, “aimed at changing the way young girls view their bodies.” Three celebrities have signed on: Fergie, Brittany Snow, and Ashlee Simpson. According to IMDB news: The trio want teenagers to stop obsessing about the shape of their bodies. Editor in Chief Ann Shoket launches the year-long project to […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Eating Disorders, Hairspray, Magazines, Media, Movies | 15 Comments »

We don’t have a category for “Thinism” or “Weight Gain” and maybe we should. Miss England has been told to gain weight if she wants to win the Miss World title. Supposedly, this is to set a better example for the youth of tomorrow. Which is, of course, binge eating. Miss England says: Miss World […]

Filed under: Eating Disorders, Feminism, International | 15 Comments »

A-list BFD tipster Kari sent in a link to an article that struck me almost as a follow-up to our conversation about the fashion industry (in the post below). We talked about the editors; what about the designers who choose to use ever-younger, ever-thinner women (and sometimes even children) as models? And where does it […]

Filed under: ANTM, Eating Disorders, Fashion, TV, Weight Loss | 9 Comments »

There’s no way really to put a positive spin or a clever title on this bit of research, which shows a link between childhood rape and obesity in women. Researchers surveyed about 2,500 men and women aged 21 and found 7.5 % had had intercourse against their will before the age of 16. While the […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Biggest Loser, Eating Disorders, Feminism, Health, International, Kids, Science, TV | 40 Comments »

Another thing that made the rounds while I was off was this video, but it’s well worth linking to, for those of you who haven’t seen it. It talks about the effects that magazine images and other media have on young women. If you’re unable to view the video, this article hits many of the […]

Filed under: Eating Disorders, Feminism, Kids, Magazines, Media, Tidbit | 7 Comments »

A fascinating expose about the pressure to be thin in the world of modeling. An ex model dishes about everything from pervert photographers to having her fingers measured as a test of whether she was “too fat.” There was a strange camaraderie, however, as all the models at my agency had been told to lose […]

Filed under: Eating Disorders, Fashion, International | 6 Comments »

Unfortunately, Jen Wade is on vacation, so we are going to have to think about this science for ourselves. But I enjoy that this research involves feeding rats Oreo cookies. “Boggiano assigned rats as ‘binge prone’ or ‘binge resistant’ based on the amount of palatable food, (Oreo® cookies), they consistently ate when given a choice […]

Filed under: Eating Disorders, Science | 3 Comments »