July 29th / 31st, 2011
"Princess Anorexia is a Bad Role Model"
When news of Kate Middleton's engagement to Prince William was first
reported, I recall seeing photographs of her on the internet and in magazines. I
was struck by what a beautiful and healthy young woman she was. Not so
gradually I began to notice a disturbing change.
Just a few months after Kate first wore Diana's ring in public, her hands
were becoming bony, her arms thinner, and on her wedding day, her face was
almost gaunt. Rumors surfaced that she and her sister Pippa had a bet to
see who could lose the most weight by the day of the Royal wedding.
Meanwhile, Huliq.com columnist Dave Masko recalled a joke that had circulated in the
East End of London. "What will Kate eat during her wedding?" Answer:
"Nothing mate, nothing at all?"
Accounts vary as to exactly how much weight Kate lost prior to the
wedding, but most sources agree that it was about 30 to 40 pounds (She reportedly
weighed 130 pounds on the day of her engagement, and 100 pounds while
saying her vows). I believe it. Just look at photos of her visit with Michelle
Obama, where Kate's formerly athletic legs looked like sticks belonging to
Olive Oil. Recent tabloid stories said that William had asked her to stop
dieting after the wedding, but by the time the Royal couple had landed in Los
Angeles earlier this month, Kate had reportedly lost another 10 pounds.
Not surprisingly, health professionals have begun to "weigh in" on Kate's
rapid change of frame. Maxine Clark, a nutrition expert at the University
of Oregon said that Kate had "lost too much weight in recent weeks and looks
emaciated". "Now's the perfect time to share information about bulimia
nervosa", said Clark, who reminded us that Princess Di had once been diagnosed
with anorexia and admitted to having binged, and took laxatives in order
to stay thin. Meanwhile, Fabio la De Clercq, founder of Italy's Association
for the Study & Research of Anorexia noted, "Kate's bordering on anorexia".
Amazingly, most Royal watchers and media observers are in denial about
Kate's condition. TIME magazine, for example, dismissed the Duchess of
Cambridge's weight loss to pre marital stress, and cited a 2000 study by Cornell
researchers who reported that 70% of women getting married want to lose at
least 20 pounds. But Cornell's Dr. Jeffrey Sobel also noted that their
findings are a fairly recent phenomena. Said Sobel, "in the 1990's, there were
relatively few entrepreneurial pushes to get women to lose weight, but that
has changed since 2000. Now we have bridal boot camps and extreme
makeovers". But recent or not, the trend toward unhealthy weight loss by young
women is disturbing.
In her new book, "Think", attorney and entertainment reporter Lisa Bloom
says that 23% of American women say they would rather lose their ability to
read than to lose their svelte figure. I don't mean to divert
responsibility away from those women, but this twisted logic is not self generated.
Movie producers, TV showrunners, and runway maestros must accept most of the
blame. Case in point, in 2000, Johns Hopkins University released results of a
controlled study on women's health in the Fiji Islands. They reported that
prior to the availability of satellite TV in Fiji, young women were
"robust, there was no dieting recorded, and no vomiting to lose weight". But in
the four years after American television was introduced to the island, 65%
of girls were dieting, and 15% were vomiting to lose weight. Asked why the
change in lifestyle, young women said it was because they wanted to look
like Heather Locklear and other thin celebrities they had seen on television.
As noted by Dr. Sobel, the extreme weight loss problem here at home is
growing, thanks to entire industries that are devoted to promoting unhealthy
and unrealistic images for women. Still, when Kate Middleton appeared on the
world wide scene, she had the perfect opportunity to help stem the tide of
low self esteem, and serve as a role model for young women. She could have
inspired them not to succumb to societal pressures , but instead she
herself bought into the propaganda of the anorexia industry. Now, young girls
everywhere are watching the Royal Rail's transformation, and they want to
emulate her. How sad.
In time, Kate will begin to take in fewer polo matches so she can go visit
third world countries, and be photographed as she comforts starving
children. But if she continues her losing ways, we soon won't be able to tell
who's comforting who.
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