Sunday, November 2, 2008
Real Life Question and Advice
A thirteen year old girl posted the following question on Yahoo! Answers recently. "Help please! Am I too skinny? I am thirteen (in eighth grade) and I weight 80.2 pounds. My ribs are visible through my skin. I don't like eating a lot but I am a type 1 diabetic and I am suppose to eat certain amounts to maintain my blood Sugar and I usually eat that much some days less. Some people ask if I'm anorexic or bulimic but I'm not and I want to know how skinny is too skinny for my age? I'm 5'4"." You can read the various responses she received and judge them for yourself. Some tell her to eat more calories and foods with substance, some tell her she is too skinny for her age/height, and others compare themselves to her and say that she is just fine. What is your take on this? I feel like she is too skinny and maybe even unhealthy. I just do not believe that being only 80.2 pounds at her age is good. I know that I personally was always quite thin at that age, but I am shorter than her and never weighed that. If she is asking the question of whether or not she is too skinny, does that mean she doesn't have an eating disorder? Can we even judge that from the given information? Diabetes seems to be a big reason for how much food she eats. I just cannot see her being healthy if people commonly perceive her as too skinny or assume she is anorexic.
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3 comments:
I totally get what you’re asking. I wonder if instead she should be talking to a health professional, like her doctor who told her she was diabetic instead of soliciting advice on a yahoo form. However, based on what you posted 80.2 lbs seems fairly low for an 8th grader even if she is 5’4”. Plus there are other factors like bone density and I’m guessing that some factors can be hereditary, she could be leaving out other things too. I think that if people are constantly asking if someone is anorexic or bulimic that has to say something. I don’t’ know, this is a sticky situation.
I am five foot four and weigh less than I am supposed to for my height, so I think that girl definitely weighs less than she is supposed to. As for your question about whether or not it is an eating disorder if she is aware there is a chance it might be one, I would have to say yes, it can still be qualified as an eating disorder. People that have eating disorders usually are aware they have a problem, but it's very hard to admit it, even to themselves.
I agree with Lindsey; maybe talking to her doctor would be wiser than asking Yahoo! readers. But still, she's thinking about her weight and the fact that she's questioning means she can still be educated on health and everything. When I was in middle school and high school I was already the height I am now (5'3 1/2"!!!) and on my 16th birthday I weighed 103 lbs. I know this because I was weighed the day I got my driver's license. So go back 2 years and I was probably around 90 lbs. Although 80 lbs. is too skinny, and she's obviously unhealthy - diabetes! oh man... - but I know I was eating around 4000 calories a day to keep up with playing 3 sports for 9 years. So who knows? Everyone is different, we all have different shapes and our bodies have minimum weight levels that we can function at. If we try to go below that level, we either can't lose any weight, or lose the ability to function. So this can be pretty complex.
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