An open letter to Weight Watchers International By Sarah McMahon I discovered today that Weight Watchers International is offering free membership for teenagers aged 13 to 17 under the guise of “helping the development of healthy habits at a critical life stage”. This was announced this week, simultaneously with their three year “2020 goal”, which […]
‘A chocolate bar every now and then won’t kill me, but not eating a chocolate bar every now and then will strengthen my eating disorder, which in turn will kill me (and nearly did)’ Claire Mercer When I was around 12 years old I developed Anorexia Nervosa and became seriously ill in a very short […]
Following my Sunday Herald Sun column critical of ‘The Biggest Loser’ last week , I heard from a number of women in recovery from eating disorders, who wrote about the negative impact the series had on them – including Melbourne woman Belinda Davis, 38, who was happy for me to share her story here. It […]
Tacky show is not worth the weight REALITY weight-loss show The Biggest Loser claims to be all about health – leading a new “social movement” against the “obesity crisis”. But many authorities – and those suffering from disordered eating – say it actually contributes to bad health. Parading and humiliating obese people, dangerously rapid weight […]
‘I was never as happy or as sure of myself after that. It was just too big of a let-down, because it wasn’t a rejection from a high school bully, it was a rejection from ‘the experts’, from people with professional opinion, and it was a closing of doors in my face from a glamorous […]
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Sunday Herald Sun, March 25, 2012 This month at Melbourne Westfield Fountain Gate, Elodie Russell beat 500 other teens to be named Victorian state finalist in the new Dolly Model Search. The Geelong student and 500 other girls competed in the model search resurrected after 10 years. Elodie is 14. But girls as young as […]
As a young woman in recovery, seeing others succumb to such behaviours is triggering, distressing and saddening Rebekah McAlinden Three years ago, if you had logged onto my computer and looked at my recent history, you would have discovered I frequently trawled through pro-eating disordered websites. There are communities of males and females of varying […]
Because children don’t already feel bad about themselves enough, there’s a new book just about to be released titled Maggie Goes On a Diet. I asked Collective Shout colleague, psychotherapist and managing director of BodyMatters Australasia Lydia Jade Turner, for her views. Written by self-proclaimed “obesity expert” Paul M. Kramer, Maggie Goes On a Diet […]
First up, Lydia Turner (discovered here first!) in ABC’s The Drum Unleashed today about the failure of “weight-loss” dietary products and the death and injury they cause. Then Julie Bindel on men who use prostituted women and why, followed by a podcast with Diane Levin, co-author with Jean Kilbourne of So Sexy So Soon: The new […]
