Letters to the Editor
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actually, 99.9% of both women and men are disordered eaters
because if you're not eating 100% raw, primarily vegan foods, you're out of whack.
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helping Flory
"67 percent of women (excluding those with actual eating disorders) are trying to lose weight"
Two thirds of Americans, men and women, are overweight or obese. The percentage of people with actually clinical eating disorders, like bulimia, is statistically insignificant.
"53 percent of dieters are already at a healthy weight and are still trying to lose weight"
That's like saying a high percentage of educated people still read. Or a high percentage of non-alcoholics still use self control when drinking. "Dieting" simply means consciously choosing foods. Choosing a healthy diet, including caloric awareness and impulse control, is often necessary to maintain a healthy weight simply due to our society being calorie abundant and exercise deficient. In a healthy society, 100% of people should "diet" by which I mean use informed judgement to eat healthier and control impulses that are evolved in a calorie scarce and labor heavy environment.
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@Mark Stevens
"because if you're not eating 100% raw, primarily vegan foods, you're out of whack.
-- Mark Stevens "
Baloney. That's a lot of hippy-dippy nonsense. We're evolved to be omnivorous, not "vegan."
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more help for Flory
"39 percent of women say concerns about what they eat or weigh interfere with their happiness"
That's like saying many recovering junkies find themselves to be less ecstatic without heroin and thusly relapse. They've failed to reconcile impulses and diet with overall happiness and lifestyle. That's a psychological problem, not exactly a dietary one.
"37 percent regularly skip meals to try to lose weight"
Lousy strategy. serious dietitians strongly recommend against that. It's a form of very poor impulse control that leads to erratic swings and puts additional strain on the body and actually lowers metabolism and encourages fat storage. The problem may be that too many people are science illiterate and get advice from sources like fashion and makeup magazines, BS writers like Flory, when they should be reading science journals and health bulletins from prominent research clinics.
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continuing to help Flory figure it out
"27 percent would be "extremely upset" if they gained just five pounds"
That's like saying most people would be extremely upset if they suddenly aged a couple years. Most people tend to put on weight as they age. Most sedantary people will put on 30 lbs or more between 25 and 40. It's a sign of diminishing activity and health and comes with associated diseases.
Gaining five pounds of fat in a short period and keeping it over a prolonged period (as opposed to water retention and typical fluctuations of weight within a few lbs) is a very bad health indicator. It's indicative of over eating and/or reduced exercise. It also increases risk of further weight gain because 5lbs is more than typical fluctuation and probably indicative of a behavioral change, the proverbial "slippery slope."
So yeah, anyone putting on 5 lbs of fat suddenly and keeping it should be concerned and consider if they need to reemphasize diet and exercise, nipping it in the bud, before it becomes 10 or 20+ at which point corrective changes become increasingly difficult.
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Flory folly
"26 percent cut out entire food groups"
Again, a pretty stupid thing to do that no serious dietician reccomends. If those women would spend more time reading science journals or otherwise getting reliable health information, and if there were less pandering sites like BS and lousy writers like Flory claiming to be feminists, women would be getting much better dietary advice.
Even on a low carbohydrate diet (which works for some people) you still need some carbs. It is true that many processed grains turn almost instantly to sugar, which leads to fat, diabetes, and increases cravings for more sugar. A much better idea would be to reduce carbs and sugars and switch to slow digested grains, that are truly "whole" like wild rice, while also greatly increasing fibrous and nutrient rich vegetables and healthy proteins. and most importantly, people need ot develop healthy recipes and eating habits they enjoy, by taking pleasure in food that is healthy, by consciously recalibrating their tastes, habits, and pleasures.
That's old news though.
Many people aren't doing that because too many people are lazy and or ignorant, and would rather be pandered to by writers like Flory on sites like BS, than actually do something.
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Still not alarmed
Oh my god, healthyskeptic, take a breath.
Having said that, whether or not these findings are accurate, I am skeptical that they represent "disordered eating." Do women have to be emotionally in tune with every morsel of food (but not too in tune! don't want to look obsessed!) they consume in order to be ordered? Perhaps these symptoms are just part of the everyday business of navigating too much food and food-related literature, not enough time, opposing cultural forces, and looking good. I doubt men's relationship with food would look very different, though some of the "symptoms" might.
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I object
--67 percent of women (excluding those with actual eating disorders) are trying to lose weight
--53 percent of dieters are already at a healthy weight and are still trying to lose weight
1. If you're trying to lose weight it doesn't necessarily mean you're "dieting."
It could just mean you intend to stop stuffing yourself with cheap, high sodium carbs made from machine-regurgitated corn and have decided to try the parts of the supermarket that sell the fresh food.
2. What does "a healthy weight" really mean?
At my height, I would be at a healthy weight at any size between a size 12 and size 4. Am I a disordered eater because I aim for a size 8? Is it scandalous and a sign of my victimization that I prefer 8 to 12?
I've been both sizes and I prefer the way my body moves and feels at 8. I can ski way better at a size 8 than 12, because there's less weight for my legs to hold up all day. There's nothing scandalous about it.
If I went up to 12, then that would be disordered eating, because it would take a lot of carb and fat binging and lack of exercise for me to get to that weight.
I would definitely aim to get back down to 8, and there would be nothing scandalous about it.
Going from one healthy weight to another -- where's the scandal?
By the way, all of that fresh healthy food and exercise is also helping to prevent cancer, so there!