Editor,
The following is in response to Jason Bourke's letter in the Daily Lobo on March 23.
There is no question that obesity is an epidemic in America. However, the societal response to this is a quick fix - diet fads, exercise videos, equipment and a multitude of drinks and pills that supposedly help one to lose weight and lose it fast.
I agree with Bourke in that there should be a support group for individuals dealing with obesity and how to lose weight safely and efficiently.
However, this is not the purpose of the body image support group on campus. The issues discussed focus on the psychological and physical problems that result in eating disorders such anorexia, bulimia and binge eating. The complexity of these diseases is often misunderstood.
Individuals who develop eating disorders use food as a means to control intense emotions of low self-esteem and low self-worth. These diseases consume one's life and, if not treated properly, can continue for years, slowly destroying the mind and body.
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The longer an individual has an eating disorder, the harder it is to overcome, and the effects on the body are more profound. Anorexics can suffer from hair loss, poor circulation, blurred eyesight and various heart problems. In fact, anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental disease. Self-induced vomiting, a tell-tale sign of bulimia, can erode the enamel from your teeth, cause tears in the stomach and esophagus and create imbalances in the body's salt and water levels, which impairs brain and kidney functions and can cause heart attacks.
This behavior is extremely addictive, since the behavior can alter brain chemistry. Unlike addictions with drugs and alcohol, where the sufferer can learn to not use the substance, sufferers of these disorders have to teach themselves how to eat again, an act that many people will never have to do.
It is not a simple issue of vanity for someone with an eating disorder because the food and weight issues are simply a cover for much deeper and painful issues. I speak from experience when I say that such disorders are secretive and shaming diseases. For an individual who has never suffered from an eating disorder, it can be easy to say, "Just eat something," or, "Don't throw up your food. It is wasteful." However, the more than 35 million American women and men who suffer from eating disorders will tell you that it is not that easy, because the real problems have nothing to do with food.
As a past participant in many support groups, a recovered bulimic and the co-facilitator of the body image support group at the Women's Resource Center at UNM, I can say that these groups are an important part of the recovery process. It is crucial to know that if you suffer from an eating disorder, you are not alone and there are resources you can turn to in order to begin addressing the issues.
It is my goal to get the word out, to provide support and awareness of this epidemic and I would like to thank Bourke for his letter and for providing me with another opportunity to do so.
America is a visual culture, and it is impossible to deny that physical appearance is an important part of that. It is the fact that physical appearance is presented as the most important aspect of an individual that troubles me.
Bourke stated that the saying, "It's what's inside that counts," is a mantra used by psychologists. I say, what's wrong with that? What is wrong with developing confidence within yourself in order to appreciate your physical self? It is impossible to feel beautiful physically if you feel inferior mentally and emotionally. I'd rather promote focusing on accepting the body you have, rather than perpetuating the vanity of our culture by advocating going to extremes in diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery to try and turn oneself into an impossible ideal.
Amanda Dreyer
UNM student
