I also was skeptical of the results of the survey, as I would have been considered a disordered eater as well. I have been dieting on and off for 4 years, being someone who NEVER had to watch my weight until after I quit smoking, gaining 40 lbs as a result. I do think, however that you downplay the idea that dieting may in fact lead to disordered eating habits. I never thought of food as 'good' or 'bad' or myself as 'good' or 'bad' depending on what I ate until I started dieting. I would love it if you could talk about this in your next blog, the psychological effects of restrictive eating.

"I do think, however that you downplay the idea that dieting may in fact lead to disordered eating habits."

Isn't her point that the definition of "disordered" is the problem? "Disordered" has been expanded to include all kinds of behavior that is in fact harmless. Any definition of eating disorder that includes behavior that doesn't actually cause any health problems to the "victim" is overly broad. By health problems, I mean things like loss of cardiac muscle tissue leading to heart conditions, damage to the esophogus resulting in risk of cancers, etc. If someone is classified as having an eating disorder through some diagnostic questionnaire, but has steady weight or gradually gains weight (as most people do), then that's a ridiculously flawed diagnosis.

Margaret Emily Anderson Word count 305
J00190843
Dieting and Disordered Eating
April 28, 2008
Susan McQuillan, M.S., R.D.
The results of this survey are very skeptical. I would have expected the results to be higher or lower depending of what kind of eating disorder they had surveyed. How can they really say what an eating disorder is and what is not? Is there a detailed book on what is and is not good for you. There most likely is but how are the results true everyone is different. Not everybody has the best metabolism and best eating habits.
Nearly all women are not happy with their bodies and will do anything to make them look like they think they should. I also have had some sort of eating disorder along with many of my friends in addition. A good number of women and men believe or not, have tried some sort of diet in one way or another in their life. A lot of the time it takes that person mind over. When a person does try a diet it can lead to a bad disorder if they are not careful but where are the lines of saying when to stop. I know when I had a problem it took over my life. That’s all I thought about so I can say with out a doubt that it is an obsession, and it can hurt you if you’re not careful.
She says the disorder is a problem but how can we really tell what is the real problem. Is it them or is it the image the world wants us to be that leads us to have a disorder, or as she says a problem. What is really causing so many people to have this problem and how can we stop it. Is there a way we can make the percentage of eating disorders go down or is it on a constant rise?

I think that you inadvertently point out something in this blog that is a BIG problem: that weight and health aren't really linked as much as we think they are. I think we have a huge problem in our society of assuming thin people are the healthiest. Some "fat" people may actually be extremely fit and a heck of a lot of really thin people can't make it up a flight of stairs. The thinnest people I know are also the only people I know who never get exercise, do not eat healthy foods, and seem to always be catching colds. I think the "health" argument for losing weight is really just a way to sound more noble than saying your losing weight to look good (especially when someone is saying they are concerned about their spouses "health"). Obviously, there are overweight people who are not healthy, but there are thin people who aren't healthy either and we don't pay any attention to it. In fact, I think that people who have maybe genetic tendencies to gain weight more easily or whatever have been told so often by doctors and everyone around them that they have to be "healthier" that is becomes part of their lifestyle, and people who are more naturally thin have never had to think about it so they actually develop a lot of bad habits. I know for a fact that when I was at my lowest ever weight I wasn't as healthy as I am at 10 of 15 pounds more, because foods with nutritional value have calories!