Eating Disorders: A Deadly Pursuit of Perfection

    Mary Cameron Robinson was just 26 years old when she died two years ago. Her mother says she'd been battling anorexia and bulimia since she was 12.  "When she mixed the bulimia and anorexia, it was very detrimental to her.  She didn't want to have an eating disorder.  It was very hard for her to fight," says Jan Robinson.  Mary "Cammy" Cameron is the face often associated with an eating disorder, a woman in her twenties. But that stereotype is changing.  Women in their thirties, forties, even fifty- and sixty- year olds are now being treated.

    "We don't look like we did when we were teenagers or even in our early twenties and we get scared.  And then the focus turns to the feeling of controlling it," says Laura Brake.  Brake says she once weighed only 98 pounds.  She now works with women at the Center for Eating Disorders at Focus Healthcare of Tennessee in Chattanooga.  It is the state's first residential treatment center. She says the pressure women feel is enormous.  "The message that society gives us is that we have to look perfect.  If we're not, then the message is we're not good enough."

    Researchers at the Eating Disorder Center in Denver call it the Desperate Housewives effect.  It is the first study to show an increase in middle-aged women receiving treatment for eating disorders.  But it's not just television.  According to a report from UCLA, the average model you see in magazines weighs 23% less than the average woman.  And the pressure to conform to the thin images starts early.

    Jan Robinson says, "You see it more and more.  You see the young first and second graders talking about being on diets and how they feel fat.  That's not good."

    "That really reflects how epidemic our disordered eating and our relationship with our health and our bodies and food has become in the U.S.  It's really, really concerning.  The national obsession with youth and appearance is deadly," says Liz Cervio.  Cervio says some of the middle-aged women she works with at the Center for Eating Disorders at Focus Healthcare of Tennessee often battled eating disorders as teens, which she says is even more reason to get help early.  "I think so many parents are facing this on a daily basis and don't know what steps to take."

    Cervio says some of the signs to look for include: a change in eating habits, gaining or losing weight rapidly, difficulty in keeping up with social events and school work, and over exercising.

    Until recently there were few resources available in the Chattanooga area.  The Center for Eating Disorders at Focus Healthcare of Tennessee opened in Chattanooga in March.  Jan Robinson started the Mary Cameron Robinson Foundation two years ago after her daughter's death.  Both organizations are offering help so that no one else has to lose a daughter, sister, mother or friend.

    "It's my life's mission now to get the word out because I just don't think people understand how deadly they can be," says Jan Robinson.

Center for Eating Disorders at Focus Healthcare of Tennessee, 1-800-675-2041, www.FocusCenterForEatingDisorders.com.

MCR Foundation For the Prevention of Eating Disorders, www.mcrfoundation.com, 423-622-2666.