I was getting ready to teach an aerobics class one Monday and, as I was about to lace my sneakers, one of my clients turned to me and said, “Debra, I need to lose five pounds by Saturday — I have a wedding to attend.” Through conversations we had over a period of time, it occurred to me that she might have a food addiction. Soon after that, she confided to me that she was suffering from an eating disorder known as bulimia. Bulimics eat an enormous amount of food at one time, then try to get rid of it by throwing up. Sound horrible? If you are not familiar with this behavior, you are probably wondering why someone would abuse themselves in this way. The reasons are complicated; among them, however, are physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse.

Along with this disease, anorexia nervosa also has come out of the closet and made headlines. Anorexia is the disease that killed Karen Carpenter. Women who suffer from this disease almost never eat — and when they do, every calorie is computed and dissected in their head. A typical day’s meal for an anorexic might include lettuce and perhaps some cottage cheese. This adds up to somewhere around 100-200 calories. In some cases, they just stop eating altogether. Aside from the obvious medical problems these women face, they are dealing with another huge problem: combating a distorted body image.

For these women and for millions of others, negative body image certainly harbors hostility. Body image is the picture we paint of our physical appearance. With that comes all kinds of judgments one makes about oneself. While there are reported cases of some men having these disorders, they remain primarily women’s issues. These disorders are especially rampant among young women who feel they need to be as thin as the models on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Seventeen magazines. For these young women, bingeing, purging and dieting have replaced good health and a sound mind.

Today, more than ever, we are a society obsessed with weight and physical appearance. This is clearly reflected on television, at the movies and in magazines, where we are bombarded with images of physical perfection. Health spas, cosmetic surgical departments and workout centers are jammed to capacity with women attempting to mold themselves into perfection.

But perfect for what? Are women sacrificing their well-being in pursuit of an impossible dream? This need for perfection has produced a dramatic increase in attendance at diet organizations such as Jenny Craig and Quick Weight Loss Centers. Eating disorders clinics and self-help groups such as Overeaters Anonymous also have experienced membership booms. Highly publicized diets such as Optifast and SlimFast have gained national attention with celebrity endorsements.

Debra