Mary Kate Olsen and eating disorders

[ZTAngel]

I don't think it will hurt her career. There's been a number of actresses who have had eating disorders and they were able to recover from it. I just hope she is able to recover from it. I'm sure it's not easy for her to have to deal with this publically.

Eating disorders are much more than "Oh, I think I'm fat so I'll stop eating". It's more of a control issue and the feeling that you have power over some aspect of your life. True, women are very concerned over their appearance but eating disorders are more of an emotional response to things going on in the person's life. Unfortunately, many researchers have found a high percentage of women who have eating disorders were once phsically or sexually abused. That would harm anyone's self-image and self-worth.

I think that when she does recover, she should set out to inform people of the dangers of anorexia. I think having someone of her celebrity status to come out and say, "This is a problem in Hollywood and the mainstream. Here's how I dealt with it and here's how you can, too" would be great. The only celebrities I can think of who have been vocal about their eating disorders are Tracy Gold and Paula Abdul but there could be more.