Eating Disorders

Last May, Naval Academy officials worried that eating disorders were widespread among women in the brigade of midshipmen. Yesterday, they said that only a few midshipmen have eating disorders, although some have poor eating habits that could lead to anorexia or bulimia.A survey taken in May found that about 11 percent of the women and 3.5 percent of the men have "disordered eating behaviors," which include severe dieting, fasting and becoming a vegetarian, said Capt. Tom Jurkowsky, an academy spokesman.

WHEN MARY PABST visits a Towson classroom as a guest speaker this week, she'll be talking about self-esteem and positive body image -- not unusual subjects in a discussion designed to deter students from eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia.But in this case, the students she'll be lecturing are preschoolers."We know now that the seeds for dissatisfaction, dieting and a drive for thinness are planted in the very young child," says Ms. Pabst, president of the Maryland Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia.

When Mary Pabst visits a Towson classroom as a guest speaker this week, she'll be talking about self-esteem and positive body image -- not unusual subjects in a discussion designed to deter students from eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia.But in this case, the students she'll be lecturing are preschoolers."We know now that the seeds for dissatisfaction, dieting and a drive for thinness are planted in the very young child," says Ms. Pabst, president of the Maryland Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia.

Scarlett Pomers couldn't stop moving. The actress stood instead of sitting, paced even when she was reading and fooled people into thinking she had already eaten. What had started as a way to lose a couple of Christmas pounds and eat healthier spiraled into a seemingly never-ending quest to be thinner. Her friends and co-workers on the set of the CW network's Reba, where she plays country-music singer Reba McEntire's daughter, noticed the usually teasing, cheerful Pomers seemed sad and withdrawn.

The Naval Academy's sports program, criticized for questionable spending, got another watchdog yesterday.The Board of Visitors, the academy's governing board, created a standing committee to periodically review the Naval Academy Athletic Association.The Sun reported in 1992 that the NAAA, a private, nonprofit organization that finances Navy athletics, bought a $317,000 condominium for Jack Lengyel, the Annapolis school's athletic director and NAAA president.The association also sent 96 academy officials, private citizens and local businessmen on an all-expenses-paid trip to the annual Army-Navy game in Philadelphia.

As Fashion Week begins in New York today, the glitz of the runway is being dimmed by talk of a sober topic: eating disorders. Long criticized for fostering unrealistic ideas about beauty, the fashion industry has come under increased scrutiny since an 88-pound Brazilian model died in November of complications from anorexia. This week, a New York state lawmaker proposed establishing weight standards to protect child actors and models. And on Monday under the storied Bryant Park tents - where designers such as Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors will show their fall 2007 collections - the Council of Fashion Designers of America is sponsoring a body image symposium.

They're not even 12 yet, but many of these Baltimore-area girls worry about being fat. Some have already tried diets. But yesterday, taking in artworks a few centuries old, they considered the idea that thin doesn't always mean beautiful. Their hair in ponytails, their emerald-green Girl Scout vests on, some holding lollipops, the girls quietly stared at an African female figure with large drooping breasts, a sign the woman had born children and fed them. They looked up at a Dutch painting of three nude women with plentiful tummies and hips, a mark of health and wealth.

THE BEST WAY to prevent eating disorders in your child, say health professionals, is to encourage healthy eating habits and a strong self-image. They offer these tips:* Teach your child to eat well-balanced meals. If you take care of your body and eat sensibly, your child probably will, too.* Discourage the idea that a particular diet or body size will automatically lead to happiness and fulfillment.* Don't use food as a reward or punishment. It sets up food as a potential weapon for control.

The best way to prevent eating disorders in your child, say health professionals, is to encourage healthy eating habits and a strong self-image. They offer these tips:* Teach your child to eat well-balanced meals. If you take care of your body and eat sensibly, your child probably will, too.* Discourage the idea that a particular diet or body size will automatically lead to happiness and fulfillment.* Don't use food as a reward or punishment. It sets up food as a potential weapon for control.