Volunteers needed for online study examining women’s food fears

A national study by RMIT University researchers is examining female fears about food, fat and weight to find out how many Australian women could be at risk of developing eating disorders. The research, conducted by RMIT and La Trobe University, will look at whether a woman’s dissatisfaction with her body, shape and size contributes to risky behaviours and thought patterns associated with disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

Principal investigator Adrian Schembri said researchers needed volunteers from across Australia to take part in the What’s Really Eating You project by filling out an online questionnaire. Read more

Young girls are dying to be thin

According to a report by Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, girls as young as 8 are being admitted to hospital for eating disorders.

More than 1000 girls under the age of 14 suffer from an eating disorder in Australia and ten to fifteen percent of these kids are under 10 years of age.

Dr Sloane Madden from the Child and Adolescent Disorder Program at The Children’s Hospital Westmead in Sydney, told the Daily Telegraph:

“It’s a group we particularly worry about as with any younger children if they are starving themselves, they are affecting their growth.”

The celebrity driven trend to achieve a size zero (size four in Australia) figure is being blamed for the phenomenom.  Marketing fashion to pre-teens is also a contributing factor.  And it’s not just girls anymore.  Doctors are treating more boys for eating disorders in Australia.

Although I applaud the Daily Telegraph’s efforts to bring this alarming trend to light.  The newspaper can hardly point fingers at others when they publish stories like, “Diet Like Hollywood Stars” and “Hilary Swank’s Slimming Regime” on their website.