The Kardashians, arguably today’s leading body-image influencers, have shrunk, capturing headlines for their striking weight loss. Pictures highlighting tiny waists, jutting ribs and bone-thin arms have shocked fans and raised eyebrows, particularly among eating disorder experts.
Media coverage of the celebrities, who publicly push products from detox teas to controversial waist trainers (corset-like exercise garb promising an hour-glass shape) can serve as a powerful trigger to eating disorders, the deadliest mental health illness second only to opioid use disorder.
Did You Know? Eating disorders result in one death every 52 minutes, or 10,200 U.S. deaths each year? About 26% of people with eating disorders attempt suicide?
For help and support, call or text the National Eating Disorders Association helpline at (800) 931-2237.
If you are in crisis, text “NEDA” to 741741 or call the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
Monitoring that tinderbox, which includes everything from fashion trends and social media to celebrity idols and body-shaping fads, has become a second job for therapists. The fallout, they say, can be devastating to the 29 million Americans living with a diagnosed eating disorder and push millions more toward disordered eating.
Below, Emily Hemendinger, MPH, LCSW, a certified public health practitioner and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, addresses the issues. In her practice, Hemendinger focuses largely on anxiety, eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder.