I've just spent 12 weeks writing on The Biggest Loser SA, and I'm hoping that the articles have inspired readers who want or need to lose weight.
But I've also been following another issue that keeps popping up in the press with great concern: the exploitation of anorexia and other eating disorders on the Internet.
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'Miss Bimbo' is a no-no
At the end of March, the Sunday Times published an article highlighting the Miss Bimbo website in the UK that stirred up a hornets' nest of controversy.
The Miss Bimbo websites in countries such as France (where it all started), and now in the UK, encourage visitors to the site to play a so-called fashion game. The aim is to win 'bimbo dollars' to buy plastic surgery, diet pills, face-lifts, underwear and evening clothes for your 'Bimbo' to create 'the coolest, richest and most famous bimbo in the world' (Sunday Times, 2008).
What is of particular concern is that the website is aimed at girls between the ages of 9 and 16 years and that, at the time of publication, more than 200 000 UK youngsters had joined up to keep their 'Bimbo' as thin as possible.
The French version of this website attracted more than 1.7 million paying players. In my opinion, this is gross exploitation of young girls at a time when they're most vulnerable and may already be struggling with issues of weight and eating disorders.
Fortunately, the UK health authorities seem to have reacted swiftly and when I tried to log in to see what this horrid website is all about, I couldn't access it. I sincerely hope that the UK Government has shut down the Miss Bimbo website to protect their youth from this kind of harmful brainwashing.
All the wrong messages
Imagine how damaging the messages of the Miss Bimbo website are to young girls if they encourage the players to ensure the their bimbo stays 'waif-thin', to have nip-tuck ops, have breast reductions or enlargements, and to make themselves as thin as possible to attract a billionaire. This is as bad as putting a loaded gun to a child's head and telling her to pull the trigger.
One website that slams the Miss Bimbo website and calls it 'degrading and disgusting' (Girlheadquarters.org, 2008) points out that all parents of teenagers, and nowadays also of younger children, should make sure that their children are 'bombarded' with realistic messages, information and facts about appearance, body weight, diets, the dangers associated with being too thin or slipping into an eating disorder, so that the youth of today have a sensible yardstick to measure these outrageous ideas against.
A step towards preventing exploitation
Models have always been waif-thin and most will go to any length to ensure that they don't pick up an ounce.
Lately, however, there have been some good signs in the press. I read that Italian fashion houses refuse to use models who weigh less than a certain minimum weight and now it seems that the French are going a step further.
Last Wednesday, The Times printed a picture of an anorexic-looking model with protruding bones and a clearly visible rib cage on their front page with the caption 'Anorexia Outlawed' (The Times, 2008).
In an accompanying article, entitled 'Anorexia crackdown in France', The Times reported that the French parliament have proposed a bill which will make it a felony to encourage individuals to starve themselves for the sake of fashion or beauty. French politicians have suggested fines of up to Euro 30 000 (nearly R400 000) or jail sentences of up to three years for anyone who has a 'pro-anorexia' website, or encourages anyone to starve themselves.
This legislation is primarily aimed at websites and blogs that promote anorexia or any other damaging diet behaviour, but it will also have an impact on fashion magazines and advertisers that incite extreme thinness. I hope that this bill is enacted in France and that other countries, including South Africa, will follow suit.
The South African situation
I've mentioned before that the number of young women (and some young men) who are diagnosed with anorexia, bulimia and orthorexia is rising alarmingly in our country. The largest number of new anorexics are found among the rapidly urbanising black population. Whereas eating disorders were previously more common among white girls, a worrying number of black teenagers are now also doing everything in their power to lose as much weight as possible.
I regularly receive questions on the DietDoc Forum from desperate readers of both sexes who have lived with anorexia or bulimia for many years and who have reached the end of their tether. They know they can't go on in this way, their health is failing and they want help, but are too scared to go for professional assistance.
What to do
If you have a problem with an eating disorder, then please, for your own sake, get professional help from a dietician and a clinical psychologist.
Eating disorders need a multifaceted approach. On the one hand, you need help to change your psychological approach to body image, weight, eating, food and exercise. On the other hand, you'll have to learn how to follow a healthy diet to repair the damage that has been done.
Find a dietician near you by visiting the Association for Dietetics in SA Website at www.adsa.org.za and by clicking on 'Find a Dietitian'. The dietician or your family doctor will also refer you to a clinical psychologist.
Don't wait. Do something about your eating disorder before it's too late.
- (Dr Ingrid van Heerden, aka DietDoc, April 2008)
References:
(Hollis Skrainski (2008). Miss Bimbo. 30 March. Sunday Times (2008).
Be sure not to overfeed your bimbo. 30 March; The Times (2008).
Anorexia crackdown in France, 16 April 2008).
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