Comments on: Mothers who diet are twice as likely to have daughters with eating disorders

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:07:50 +0000

Well I had a severe ED and no my mother NEVER had eating issues and is far from disfunctional, I would put her as the last reason for my ED, mine was triggered by an event. Sorry but I do find your comment offensive.

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:59:15 +0000

My eating disorder which was very severe definitely did not come from my mother, for some it might but there is never one sole cause for an Ed there are a multitude of triggers

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:51:02 +0000

I feel my eating disorder was triggered from a stressful event, body image and a desire for control over my life, it was a diet that developed into addiction. My mother never had issues with food, in fact I envy her healthy and holistic attitude to food. ED are so complicated and really impacted on my family, but would not be where I am today without my mothers help in that terrible and dark days, she was my number one supporter and I could not have done it without her, I feel guilty at putting her through it but I love her more than ever, she sis everything she could to be there for me.

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:42:33 +0000

I completely agree, I had a eating disorder and it was all enveloping. I felt a huge, tremendous amount of shame about it and always claimed to be naturally skinny and healthy…My family knows but my friends only suspected it. It was the one thing in my life I hid, I would go to extreme lengths to hide it because of the shame, guilt embarrassment and self loathing I felt about it. I still feel this way and will never tell anyone.

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:24:32 +0000

agreed, eating disorders are far more complicated than a mothers influence even if this is a contributing factor

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:23:26 +0000

Try talking to your friend, even if she is hostile, tell her you are worried and ask if she needs to talk about anything. Friends need to support each other and not turn a blind eye…

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:20:34 +0000

I had a eating disorder for years, never quite bad enough to be hospitalised but a battle that eclipsed my life for a long time. It still manifests occasionally and it is something I feel I am vulnerable to still to this day. My mother is slim and I am naturally slim too, she watches her weight, works out but she is healthy not obsessed and rarely mentions weight. My family never mentioned my weight much that I can remember however my parents have always been fairly critical of what I do and… well everything. I feel this criticism although not directed about weight had something to do with my eating disorder, I felt inadequate often and was never told I was fantastic/beautiful/intelligent so I doubted myself. Mothers please build you daughters up, I have extremely kind and loving parents and it would break their heart to know I felt this way, it was never intentional but their actions and words did affect my whole sense of self.

By: Anon

Anon — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:04:21 +0000

My mum was always complaining about her weight and going on fad diets and exercise programs, despite the fact that she was actually quite skinny, especially compared to other mums I saw. When I was a teen I stacked on some weight and was heavier than my mother. I kept thinking that if she was fat then I must have been obese. I struggled with my weight for a very long time also doing fad diets and exercise programs. I finally grew to be OK with my body. Then I had a baby and my body is bigger than it used to be. I am unhappy with how I look now but at the same time I don’t want to influence my daughter by saying that I feel fat and ugly in front of her. I am really not sure what to do when I feel fat and ugly but don’t want it to come across in front of my daughter. I hope I can again grow to be OK with my new body and teach her that looks don’t matter.

By: Rosie

Rosie — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:53:11 +0000

I definately agree with this article. My Mum suffered from anorexia in her early to mid 20s and I don’t think she’s every really recovered. She’s always complaining about how fat she is and putting herself on new diets. On top of that, her own issues with food and weight have made her self-conscious of me and my body. Eg; she often says things to me like, “You would be so beautiful if only you lost a few kilos” or “You’d only need to lose 5kg and you’d be perfect”….she then wonders why I get self-conscious of myself and won’t go to the beach.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:56:22 +0000

I agree during my time at an inpatient treatment facility for anorexia my mother probably looked somewhat dysfunctional from an observer. I don’t believe she had a role in my illness and the majority of other patients felt the same way. Eating disorders are a very personal issue and the majority of pressure is placed on the patient by the patient. Its not really something that can be speculated upon with out first hand experience.