How fat are you?

iStockphoto

iStockphoto

Like most women I get  preoccupied with my weight. 🙁  Don’t get me wrong… although I obsess, it doesn’t consume me. One of the most popular searched posts (daily) on this blog is Media influence on women’s body image. Recently I have been struck by one young girl in her mid 20’s who uses the same gym as I do. Why? Clearly borderline anorexic she exercises with fanatical zeal, her body disguised in baggy sweats, her shoulders which are visible show bones and no muscle tone. I observe sadly as she weighs herself at least 3 times during the course of each workout! So maybe its not surprising that today in my  daily newspaper trawl, both the following articles captured my attention.
In the New York Times Tara Parker Pope looks at how books on anorexia can inadvertently become how-to books for teens struggling with the disease Link to read this article and also the full review of Skin and Bone.
More discussion in The Guardian of how women’s weight issues impact their lives in Decca Aitenkhead’s interviewwith Susie Orbach author of Fat is a Feminist Issue
and new book Bodies: Big Ideas/Small Books
Link to read this article
interview

Can a novel convey, however inadvertently, an allure to anorexic behavior?Are you comfortable with your body? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Source: New York Times, Guardian