Update: Another Pro-Ana Slogan, Snack Factory?! Really?

If you didn't get a chance to check out my last post, scroll down and check it out... The Snack Factory, a company based out of San Francisco that makes different snack foods, recently began an ad campaign for their pretzel thin pretzel snacks by using a pro-anorexic advertisement. As you can see from the ad that is pictured in the post below (or you can click here to view it), this was a very offensive ad and the Snack Factory agreed to take it down. Well, believe it or not, this image to the left is what they replaced it with... "Tastes as good as skinny feels." Umm.... Hello!!! How is this any better than the previous one?? Are they just really that clueless or do they not care what the ad communicates?

I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are just really ignorant- but I think this again just highlights the need for a) more education and information to the general public about eating disorders and b) the need for continued advocacy and awareness being raised which may eventually help to change things like this that we see and encounter from day to day. It doesn't mean grand gestures. Maybe it means reading up on eating disorders (follow this link for great info on the NEDA site), encouraging your friends (and yourself!) to avoid fat talk, or maybe you point out myths about eating disorders when you have the opportunity! No matter what you do, there is nothing too small to help raise awareness. Every little bit counts.

I'm not sure if these ads are still up; I have not been able to find anything more on whether the Snack Factory pulled them or not. Hopefully they did. Please feel free to contact them and tell you how you feel about their ads if you are so inclined. Here is the link to their website and contact info!

One Woman's Thoughts on Barbie...

I grew up playing with Barbies- cutting their hair, putting real make-up on them, and dressing them up in all kinds of crazy outfits. I actually used to force my brother to play Barbies with me sometimes when we were little and we would argue over who got to drive the Barbie corvette or the Barbie volvo- sorry Jonathan to out you like this. I was a bossy kid and I didn't like playing Barbies by myself! : ) Because of my history of playing with Barbies as a kid, I wouldn't say that I am a hater. But I would by no means say that I am a fan. The sort of global impact that Barbie has had on the self-esteems and body images of women everywhere is not to be overlooked. Let's just take a minute and look at the following facts about Barbie..

Barbie, the best selling fashion doll in the world, has unattainable and unhealthy body proportions. If she were alive, she would be unable to menstruate. Research has shown that very young girls (ages 5-7) who are exposed to Barbie have lower self esteem and want a thinner body than they have.(Dittmar, Halliwell, & Ive, 2006)

While statistics vary depending on which source you use, Barbie's dimensions (if she were alive) would be somewhere around the following- she would be 6 feet tall, 100 lbs., and wearing a size 4. Her measurements would be 39"/19"/33" and as a result would have to walk on all fours because her body's dimensions would not allow her to stand upright (Statistics taken from Eating Disorders Info and ANRED).

Does playing with Barbies cause eating disorders? No way. If that were the case, we'd all have developed eating disorders. But I believe that the way in which we view our bodies and beauty has probably been shaped by Barbie, a pop cultural icon, in some capacity. Interestingly enough, the story of how Barbie came to be might surprise you. It really surprised me. Dr. Susan Albers who has written some great books on mindful eating wrote a piece in the Huffington Post recently entitled "Why I Don't Hate Barbie Anymore." She shares about the life of Ruth Handler, the woman who created Barbie. Handler, the youngest of her 10 siblings, was raised by her eldest sister. She wanted to make something of herself and be successful in spite of the odds and circumstances stacked against her. Handler found worth, value and self-esteem in her work. She even went on to create prosthetics for breast cancer survivors who had lost their breasts to cancer- sadly, she was one of these women.

This article (as well as the book written about Handler's life) provides some very interesting context and thoughts on Barbie, her legacy and the woman behind the doll, as well as a GREAT message on self-esteem and where we each find our value. I would really encourage you to check it out (here!). Let me be clear- in the words of Dr. Albers- "Barbie's negative symbolism and impact on body image clearly overshadows the rest of this story." I can't do this piece justice in my description of it, so I would encourage you to read it for yourself (here). I know I am always encouraging you all to check out different articles, but if you read just one, read this one! What a great reminder that our value and worth as people come from more than our achievements and 'success.'

A Diet is a Diet is a Diet

Lately I've been ragging on celebrities- Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and now... Jessica Simpson. I've written about Jessica Simpson in the past (here and here) because she has been involved in many efforts to encourage women to examine what real beauty is, both through her show, Price of Beauty, and through her work with Operation Smile. She was also on Oprah a few months ago, sharing her thoughts about beauty, body image, and her renewed sense of self. At one point, she got teary-eyed and when Oprah asked her what she was feeling, she responded that she was frustrated by the pressure put on women by the media to be thin.

Well, this week, Simpson posted on twitter that she has started a strict vegan diet. While she later added that this diet has nothing to do with weight loss, and only has to do with being healthy, I was a little disappointed and surprised that after her campaign to focus on health, beauty and accepting her body, that she would publicly discuss her 'strict vegan diet' that she says 'shocked her system.' Because she has made body image and beauty her platform, it seems irresponsible of her to mention her latest fad restrictive vegan diet. Diets, as I have preached and preached about, are ineffective and BAD (why? find out here). If Simpson chooses to follow a vegan diet, that is her choice, but to announce that she has started a new diet puts the focus in the wrong place, whether this diet has to do with weight loss or not. Some may disagree with me, and that is ok! But I think that it would be better if she kept that information to herself, especially due to her history of engaging in fad and yo-yo diets and the ongoing scrutiny over her weight- as anyone hearing about her latest diet would naturally assume it has to do with weight loss (as all of her other diets have been in the past).

Our society is obsessed with dieting, who is eating what, losing weight fast, bodies, etc. It's tough to go onto facebook or twitter anymore without reading a status update or tweet about some kind of disordered behaviors/thoughts regarding food and exercise. I'm not calling anyone out here or thinking of certain people as I write this (well, maybe Jessica haha), but the more we call attention to these things, the more we are playing into the unhealthy dynamic created by the media. As much as Jessica Simpson has experienced criticism and pressure from the media, I would think that she would not want to perpetuate the focus and value on such things herself. I am afraid that by making a public point to share her latest diet plan, she is compromising the stance she has been trying to model with health and beauty. It's not that all of her progress and encouragement to women has been completely wasted and forgotten, but she is sending some pretty mixed messages. From here on out, it might be more helpful for her to refrain from promoting or discussing her current meal plan. And so should everyone else. We don't need a play by play via facebook or twitter about how many pounds you lost last week or how fat you feel or how intense your exercise routine is or how you can fit into your skinny jeans again. Food nourishes our bodies, it gives us energy and fuel to think well and be active. Let's keep the focus there and spend the rest of our energy, time and thoughts on things that matter more, like family, friends, our careers, and making the world a better place.

The Joy Project

Help those suffering from eating disorders by voting for the Joy Project in Pepsi's Refresh Project! Pepsi has organized this project as an opportunity for people, businesses and non-profits to share ideas that will make a positive impact on communities. Anyone can submit an idea, as well as vote! And, there are only 2 days left to vote before they start a new month over and , so if you are interested, you may want to check it out soon!! The Joy Project is currently ranked #64 and needs some more votes (quickly) if they are going to receive some funding!!

The Joy Project is seeking 25k to fund a program called Roots of Recovery- the money is being used to rent a meeting space to conduct their meetings and activities, as well as fund the activities and meetings! They are not providing therapy or nutrition services, and are not licensed clinicians. However, they are interested in providing support, education and research- all things that are needed in the field of eating disorders! If you are interested in finding out more about the Joy Project (or voting), follow this link. To check our the Joy Project's website, follow this link.

EDNOS

I have posted in the past (here) about 'eating disorders not otherwise specified' -- commonly referred to as EDNOS. As a diagnosis, EDNOS is not very specific-- if one does not meet the criteria for anorexia or bulimia, then he or she is lumped into the EDNOS diagnosis. In this way, it can sometimes be seen as the 'kitchen sink' diagnosis. This can be problematic for many reasons-- mainly, a single diagnosis used for people that experience a range of different behavioral symptoms (binge eating- no purging, purging- no bingeing, night eating, etc) is not necessarily effective when it comes to treating the eating disorder. There was an article published in the NY Times awhile back that I have been meaning to post that you can access by following this link which addresses this very issue. I would encourage you all to check this article out! It helps to bust a few common eating disorder myths and provides a little more background on EDNOS. For more info on EDNOS, follow this link.