By Susan Donaldson James — 2012
Silver Medalist and mother Judi Brown Clarke warns about overzealous parenting.
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CLEAR ALL
Learn why eating disorders tend to occur in athletes, and what you can do to recognize and get help for sports-related anorexia and bulimia.
Society has also conditioned us to believe eating disorders afflict only young, white, thin, and affluent women. But in reality, they can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, or weight.
You may have heard of an eating disorder called anorexia nervosa. People with anorexia nervosa drastically restrict the amount of food they eat. They have a distorted view of their body and an intense fear of weight gain. Over time, this behavior can lead to serious complications.
"The assumption that eating disorders primarily affect young, affluent white women was based on research that was conducted on young, affluent white women."
The stereotypic image of those suffering from eating disorders is not as valid as once thought.
Dr. Holbrook, a psychiatrist and the director of the eating-disorders program at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Oconomowoc, Wis., is not most people's idea of a recovering anorexic.