By Tim Saunders on
Actress Scarlett Johansson has blogged about claims in the media that she has an eating disorder and went on a crash diet to lose weight for her new film. Calling it “reckless and dangerous” reporting, Johansson urges her fans to seek help if they or anyone they know suffer from eating disorders.
“Every time I pass a newsstand, the bold yellow font of tabloid and lifestyle magazines scream out at me: ‘Look Who’s Lost It!’ ‘They Were Fabby and Now They’re Flabby!’ ‘They Were Flabby and Now They’re Flat!’” she wrote in The Huffington Post. "According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), as many as 10 million females and 1 million males living in the US are fighting a life and death battle with anorexia or bulimia. The press should be held accountable for the false ideals they sell to their readers regarding body image — that’s the real weight of the issue.
“NEDA goes on to say, “the media is one of our most important allies in the effort to raise awareness about the dangers of eating disorders…we strive to work with the media to produce accurate, insightful and informative pieces that will resonate with the public, while maintaining hope and avoiding glamorizing or promoting copycats.” But how are we, the reader, to decipher friend from foe? How are we supposed to view articles highlighting celebrity cellulite and not sulk in the mirror, imagining a big red arrow pointing to various parts of our bodies? The media has packaged for us an unhealthy idea that one must suffer loss, be in the middle of a nervous breakdown, feel pressure from friends or coworkers, battle divorce or have a bitter dispute with an ex in order to get into acceptable bikini shape.
“I would be absolutely mortified to discover that some 15-year-old girl in Kansas City read one of these “articles” and decided she wasn’t going to eat for a couple of weeks so she too could “crash diet” and look like Scarlett Johansson.
“For more information on eating disorders and/or treatment options, please visit: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/.”
To read Scarlett’s entire blog, click here.
Copyright © 2009 Look to the Stars
