Health Week: Miss America's Battle with Anorexia

It looks as though “MISScelanea Health Week” is going to turn into “Health Week-and-a-Half.” Today I will try to touch on the vast issue of eating disorders, and why not start with our very own Miss America, Kirsten Haglund.

This AP interview was printed in several publications:

Just three years ago, newly crowned Miss America Kirsten Haglund was eating tiny portions of food and became so thin her concerned parents "dragged me to the doctor."

Haglund was diagnosed with anorexia, and the lack of nutrition caused her collar bones to stick out, her heart rate to drop and her relationships to suffer.

"I would feel fatigued walking up six stairs," the 19-year-old Haglund said Sunday, a day after being crowned Miss America 2008. "I was a completely different person. It's not a pretty sight."

..."You have to have curves," she said proudly. "You can't look like a stick-thin model."

The aspiring Broadway star even ate the silver medallion chocolates left on her pillow in her suite at the host site, the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

"Yes, oh my gosh, yes," she said. "I love chocolate. Chocolates are a girl's best friend."

The 5-foot 8-inch blonde said she doesn't disclose her weight to avoid setting standards for youths obsessed with getting lighter.

She said she stopped pursuing her dream to become a professional ballerina to escape an environment in which she was rewarded for being slim and an industry that Haglund said sweeps concerns about eating disorders under the rug.

The National Eating Disorders Association estimates eating disorders affect 10 million girls and women and about 1 million boys and men in the United States.

...While the teen said she wasn't about to "let myself go," she didn't plan to skip any meals over her crowning year.

"I'm going to enjoy my food," she said.

I am sifting through a lot of personal stories and statistic online and will share more soon…

This is not an issue I am familiar with, so please email me or leave a comment with your experience or knowledge.