Early one morning a couple of weeks ago, I was in a hotel lobby convenience shop in La Jolla getting a cup of tea. When I turned to leave the store, I encountered on the magazine rack the June 20, 2011 edition of . As you can see, the cover story draws attention to eating disorder "confessions" of Hollywood celebrities who, as we know, often serve as role models and guides for the public.The cover story begins on page 42 and goes on for seven pages that feature 22 "Scary Skinny" actresses and models (complete list* below). Some of these women, such as Courtney Love, Snooki and Ashlee Simpson, "confess" to their eating disorders. Others, such as Keira Knightley and Taylor Momsen, say that their "frail frames" are simply due to "good genes."
The last half-page of the story has a short section entitled "How to Get Help" and contains information on the difference between and and provides contact information for the National Eating Disorders Association (). We've covered NEDA and eating disorders in a number of .
It's interesting to look at the advertising that supported this special issue of Star. Pfizer has a 3-page ad about painful intercourse and Premarin vaginal cream. There are also several full-page ads for diet and weight loss products (Ultimate Fat Burner, Lichi Super Fruit Lychee Extract, Zantrex-3 "Snooki's Diet Secret," and Medifast "Recommended by over 20,000 doctors since 1980").
But perhaps the most shocking ad was the inside back cover: "It's Rich! It's Red, It's Non-Menthol!" (). In our next installment we'll review the literature on the associations between smoking and extreme dieting among adolescents.
*Here is the complete list of people featured in the June 20 cover story of Star in the order in which they appear in the article:
Keira Knightley, Paula Abdul, Melissa Joan Hart, Tara Reid, Janice Dickinson, Eva Herzigova, Gretchen Rossi, LeAnn Rimes, Miss America Teresa Scanlan, Courtney Love, Kate Bosworth, Niki Taylor, Candice Swanepoel, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Taylor Armstrong, Ricki Lake, Allegra Versace, Taylor Momsen, Tila Tequila, Ashlee Simpson, Candace Cameron Bure, Scarlett Pomers