Article: Young, skinny ‹ and obsessed with diets

On 6/6/2004 2:18 PM, Ignoramus25707 wrote:
In article , JMA wrote:

"Ignoramus8628" wrote in message
...

In article , That T Woman wrote:

This is one of your more stupid posts, Ig. You're scraping the bottom

of

the barrel to find something positive to say about a 13 year old girl
starving herself to stay stick thin. I wonder what her school work is

like

the days she only eats the piece of fruit. This is so not what we

should

want a 13 year old to be doing. "If she lives to old age"? What about

the

*quality* of her life now and in the immediate future?

Well, I merely pointed out one aspect of her anorexic lifestyle that
happens to be beneficial. Surely, one could find many other not so
positive sides of anorexia, and you did a splendid job at that.

Calling a post that brings up an interesting finding regarding cancer
risk of anorexic women, stupid just because it does not pay lip
service to dangers of anorexia (already well known), is not
justifiable.

i


So if that was your 13 year old living on one piece of fruit a day in order
to stay thin, it would be ok with you because it would reduce the
possibility of cancer at a later age (if she lives long enough)?


No, it would not be okay with me, and I did not say that her dieting
was okay, it was your faulty inference.

So, statemetn at at least she's less likely to get breast cancer was not
a endorsement? It sure sounded like one from here. Would you please
clarify your position on this then?

--
jmk in NC

On 6/5/2004 6:41 PM, GaryG wrote:
"Carol Frilegh" wrote in message
...

Young, skinny and obsessed with diets
Weight concerns can as early as 14 Fashion, parents take the
blameGirls, and some boys too, unduly concerned about weight


MARGO VARADI
TORONTO STAR

Dominique Dasti hates her body and no matter how hard she tries she
can't get it to look the way she wants.

"People say I'm too skinny but I look in the mirror and don't see that
at all," says Dominique, 13. "Kids used to tease me and say I'm fat but
they don't anymore ... I've kept that thought that I'm big and fatter
than anyone else and it won't go away. I don't think I could ever feel
skinny."

Dominique is proof of a growing phenomenon of young girls dissatisfied
with their bodies. According to a recent study, young girls are
becoming increasingly concerned about their weight and are taking
drastic dieting measures even when there is no need. The Canadian
Medical Association Journal study states that by 14, more than half of
girls want to be thinner and are afraid of being overweight.

Experts blame the problem on everything from images of the ultra-thin
in the media and fashion, to dieting parents and peer pressure. Local
children and their parents talked to the Star to voice their own
experiences.

On the verge of starving, Dominique says she often goes an entire day
eating only a piece of fruit, just to stay thin. Standing at 5-foot-6,
she used to be 150 pounds and now she's 114.


A 13 year old girl, 5' 6" tall, who weighs 114 lbs, is in the "Normal Range"
according to the Centers for Disease Control/World Health Organization, with
a Body Mass Index of 18.4. At her age, height, and gender she would be in
the 31st weight percentile, compared to US averages. Although she is at the
low end of normal, and may indeed have an eating disorder, her current
weight is not that extreme by comparison.

GG
http://www.WeightWare.com
Your Weight and Health Diary

Wrong. According to the CDC, a BMI of 18.5 or lower is underweight.

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm

--
jmk in NC

On 6/7/2004 9:11 AM, jmk wrote:
On 6/5/2004 6:41 PM, GaryG wrote:

"Carol Frilegh" wrote in message
...

Young, skinny and obsessed with diets
Weight concerns can as early as 14 Fashion, parents take the
blameGirls, and some boys too, unduly concerned about weight


MARGO VARADI
TORONTO STAR

Dominique Dasti hates her body and no matter how hard she tries she
can't get it to look the way she wants.

"People say I'm too skinny but I look in the mirror and don't see that
at all," says Dominique, 13. "Kids used to tease me and say I'm fat but
they don't anymore ... I've kept that thought that I'm big and fatter
than anyone else and it won't go away. I don't think I could ever feel
skinny."

Dominique is proof of a growing phenomenon of young girls dissatisfied
with their bodies. According to a recent study, young girls are
becoming increasingly concerned about their weight and are taking
drastic dieting measures even when there is no need. The Canadian
Medical Association Journal study states that by 14, more than half of
girls want to be thinner and are afraid of being overweight.

Experts blame the problem on everything from images of the ultra-thin
in the media and fashion, to dieting parents and peer pressure. Local
children and their parents talked to the Star to voice their own
experiences.

On the verge of starving, Dominique says she often goes an entire day
eating only a piece of fruit, just to stay thin. Standing at 5-foot-6,
she used to be 150 pounds and now she's 114.



A 13 year old girl, 5' 6" tall, who weighs 114 lbs, is in the "Normal
Range"
according to the Centers for Disease Control/World Health
Organization, with
a Body Mass Index of 18.4. At her age, height, and gender she would
be in
the 31st weight percentile, compared to US averages. Although she is
at the
low end of normal, and may indeed have an eating disorder, her current
weight is not that extreme by comparison.

GG
http://www.WeightWare.com
Your Weight and Health Diary


Wrong. According to the CDC, a BMI of 18.5 or lower is underweight.

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm

Oops, that below 18.5, not 18.5 or below. Sorry.


--
jmk in NC

On 6/7/2004 9:13 AM, Ignoramus2772 wrote:
In article , jmk wrote:

On 6/6/2004 12:38 AM, Ignoramus8628 wrote:


Calling a post that brings up an interesting finding regarding cancer
risk of anorexic women, stupid just because it does not pay lip
service to dangers of anorexia (already well known), is not
justifiable.

Of course it's justifiable! Besides, your post really *is* scraping
the bottom of the barrel and isn't even consistent with your
previous posts regarding individuals with low BMIs.



Are you saying that the study that I posted is scientifically invalid?

No, I'm saying that you are a dufus for implying that a teenager having
a weight this low is a good thing.


--
jmk in NC

On 6/6/2004 1:44 PM, OceanView wrote:
"JMA" wrote in
:


"That T Woman" wrote in message
...

"Steve" wrote in
message ...

Carol Frilegh wrote:

Young, skinny and obsessed with diets
Weight concerns can as early as 14 Fashion, parents
take the blameGirls, and some boys too, unduly
concerned about weight

snip

A decade ago this article would have inspired outrage,
but that was before obese toddlers and teen agers with
type II diabetes.

Steve

So we should ignore that some teenagers are starving
themselves because

some

toddlers are obese and some teenagers have diabetes?
Can't we be outraged about all the extremes?

Tonia


Well T, I guess anything is better than being fat (or
perceived as fat).





Skinny kids don't get abused, tormented and bullied, but fat
kids sure do. And it has lifelong repercusions.

Actually, skinny kids do too -- at least guys. My brother was always
(and still is) extremely thin and he was always picked on for it.

--
jmk in NC

On 6/7/2004 9:15 AM, Ignoramus2772 wrote:
In article , jmk wrote:

On 6/6/2004 2:18 PM, Ignoramus25707 wrote:

In article , JMA wrote:


"Ignoramus8628" wrote in message
...


In article , That T Woman wrote:


This is one of your more stupid posts, Ig. You're scraping the bottom

of


the barrel to find something positive to say about a 13 year old girl
starving herself to stay stick thin. I wonder what her school work is

like


the days she only eats the piece of fruit. This is so not what we

should


want a 13 year old to be doing. "If she lives to old age"? What about

the


*quality* of her life now and in the immediate future?

Well, I merely pointed out one aspect of her anorexic lifestyle that
happens to be beneficial. Surely, one could find many other not so
positive sides of anorexia, and you did a splendid job at that.

Calling a post that brings up an interesting finding regarding cancer
risk of anorexic women, stupid just because it does not pay lip
service to dangers of anorexia (already well known), is not
justifiable.

i


So if that was your 13 year old living on one piece of fruit a day in order
to stay thin, it would be ok with you because it would reduce the
possibility of cancer at a later age (if she lives long enough)?


No, it would not be okay with me, and I did not say that her dieting
was okay, it was your faulty inference.

So, statemetn at at least she's less likely to get breast cancer was not
a endorsement? It sure sounded like one from here. Would you please
clarify your position on this then?



Of course it is not an endorsement of anorexia.

Suppose that someone mentioned a crazy woman who chopped off her
breasts with an axle. And then, it would be a matter of fact that her
chances of breast cancer are greatly reduced (duh). Would mentioning
that imply endorsement of chopping off breasts with an axe? Surely
not.

Oh, but she'd weigh less so I suppose that you would be supportive, right?
--
jmk in NC

"GaryG" wrote in
:

"OceanView" wrote in message
...
Carol Frilegh wrote in
:

Young, skinny and obsessed with diets
Weight concerns can as early as 14 Fashion, parents take
the blameGirls, and some boys too, unduly concerned
about weight
snipped

In spite of the anorexia debate, I can tell you that the
disease is not restricted to girls.

I went from 6'0 225 at 14 to 6'2" 160 at 17 and still saw
myself as fat. I'd had a lifetime of extremes and I
consider it all the same disease: low self-esteem. (Side
note: John Lennon became anorexic after reading that he'd
gotten a nickname as "the fat Beatle.")

Are you saying you were anorexic during that period? The
numbers don't seem to support that. Losing 65 lbs over the
course of 3 years would require a daily deficit of around
210 calories per day - a very reasonable and healthy rate
of weight loss. A 6'2" 160 lb 17 year old male has a Body
Mass Index of 20.5 (in the Normal Range), and is in the
38th weight percentile based on US averages. So, you were
on the low side of normal, but still well above the
"Underweight" category.

The CDC definition of "Underweight" for adolescents is "
5th percentile" for Body Mass Index. For a 17-year old
male, that would require a BMI17.6 (137 lbs at your
height). Based on this definition, at 160 lbs, you were
still 23 lbs above "Underweight".

Perhaps it's one of those "good news/bad news"
scenarios...while it's true that you may have suffered from
low self-esteem and had an obsession with food during that
time, it seems unlikely that you were truly anorexic.

GG
http://www.WeightWare.com
Your Weight and Health Diary


I've been busy lately, not making money, unfortunately,
but it's nice to be back!

260/230/195




I wasn't anorexic, but a lot of people telling me I was too
"skinny." BTW, I lost most of that weight in a three month
period, 225-175, but bottomed out at 160. The 175 would be
nice now!

"jmk" wrote in message
...
On 6/5/2004 6:41 PM, GaryG wrote:
"Carol Frilegh" wrote in message
...

Young, skinny and obsessed with diets
Weight concerns can as early as 14 Fashion, parents take the
blameGirls, and some boys too, unduly concerned about weight


MARGO VARADI
TORONTO STAR

Dominique Dasti hates her body and no matter how hard she tries she
can't get it to look the way she wants.

"People say I'm too skinny but I look in the mirror and don't see that
at all," says Dominique, 13. "Kids used to tease me and say I'm fat but
they don't anymore ... I've kept that thought that I'm big and fatter
than anyone else and it won't go away. I don't think I could ever feel
skinny."

Dominique is proof of a growing phenomenon of young girls dissatisfied
with their bodies. According to a recent study, young girls are
becoming increasingly concerned about their weight and are taking
drastic dieting measures even when there is no need. The Canadian
Medical Association Journal study states that by 14, more than half of
girls want to be thinner and are afraid of being overweight.

Experts blame the problem on everything from images of the ultra-thin
in the media and fashion, to dieting parents and peer pressure. Local
children and their parents talked to the Star to voice their own
experiences.

On the verge of starving, Dominique says she often goes an entire day
eating only a piece of fruit, just to stay thin. Standing at 5-foot-6,
she used to be 150 pounds and now she's 114.


A 13 year old girl, 5' 6" tall, who weighs 114 lbs, is in the "Normal
Range"
according to the Centers for Disease Control/World Health Organization,
with
a Body Mass Index of 18.4. At her age, height, and gender she would be
in
the 31st weight percentile, compared to US averages. Although she is at
the
low end of normal, and may indeed have an eating disorder, her current
weight is not that extreme by comparison.

GG
http://www.WeightWare.com
Your Weight and Health Diary

Wrong. According to the CDC, a BMI of 18.5 or lower is underweight.

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm

That is for adults...for adolescents they use a different standard, because
teenagers tend to naturally have very low BMI's compared to adults:

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/bmi-for-age.htm

GG


--
jmk in NC

"megan" wrote in message
om...
"JMA" wrote in message
[...]

In order for a person to be "truly" anorexic the BMI needs to be 18 AND
they have to be overly concerned with weight, body appearance, or be
extremely fearful of being fat or gaining weight.

Is this true?

I'm not trying to correct you, I'm just curious. If someone
exhibited anorexic behavior - only ate, I don't know, an apple and a
cracker a day and worked out like a demon - but weighed 200 pounds
(They would, of course, probably not stay 200 for long, I realize)...
are they not an anorexic because their BMI is too high?

megan

Good questions...I think low BMI is definitely an indicator, but not
required for the diagnosis:

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/ucdhs/h...diagnosis.html

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/articles/12688-5.asp

GG

GaryG wrote:

"Carol Frilegh" wrote in message
...

In article , GaryG
wrote:


A 13 year old girl, 5' 6" tall, who weighs 114 lbs, is in the "Normal

Range"

according to the Centers for Disease Control/World Health Organization,

with

a Body Mass Index of 18.4. At her age, height, and gender she would be

in

the 31st weight percentile, compared to US averages. Although she is at

the

low end of normal, and may indeed have an eating disorder, her current
weight is not that extreme by comparison.

GG
http://www.WeightWare.com
Your Weight and Health Diary

Fitday has that girl off the chart in a blank zone underweight.


Interesting...I wonder where fitday gets their numbers from? Does their
system take into account her age and sex? (I couldn't find anything on their
web site).

One of the better Body Mass Index sites I've found is Steven Halls, MD. His
calculator is he

http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm

It's true that some BMI calculators indicate "Underweight" starting around
BMI=18.5. But, most of those are for adults...teens tend to naturally run
low BMI's. Her weight is in the 31st percentile, which is on the low side,
but not abnormally low for her age and height.

It sounds like she may have an eating disorder, but based on her weight
alone, she may not yet be in a dangerous condition (physically, anyway).

Just as another example, I just called up to my 13 year old daughter and
asked her what she weighs. She replied "I have no idea." I told her to
go weigh herself on my scale. She came in at 95 pounds at 5'3". She's
in the 25th percentile, which makes perfect sense: she slender but not
boney. Furthermore, she's been between the 10th and 25th percentile for
weight at every well-child checkup since she was 2 months old. Pardon
me if I don't get hysterical about her being under 100 pounds.

Dally