A new survey by Self magazine and UNC Chapel Hill says that a whopping 65%, or two-thirds, of young American women have an abnormal relationship to food.
According to the Wash Post, ”Our survey found that these behaviors cut across racial and ethnic lines and are not limited to any one group. Women who identified their ethnic backgrounds as Hispanic or Latina, white, black or African American and Asian were all represented among the women who reported unhealthy eating behaviors,” Cynthia R. Bulik, a professor of eating disorders and director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program, said in a prepared statement.
Even more disturbing, 31% percent of the women surveyed said they had engaged in some sort of purging activity, like vomiting, taking laxatives (which I’ve never done but always found interesting), diuretics, or diet pills. Half those women said they did these things either a few times a week or, for some, everyday.
June 6, 2008 at 3:33 am
Thank you for having the courage to talk about this! Particularly illuminating the cross racial lines stats. Black women need to wake up and realize eating issues aren’t just a white girl thing. Cause if that were the case, why would African American women have the highest rates for being overweight and obese? It’s time we all woke up and starting taking care of and loving ourselves just a little bit more. Damnit.