| Dangerous Dieting By Pat Humphrey |
||
"Hey, Shelly, look at that really cool outfit!" Carla called out to her friend as she glanced into the store window at the mall. "Let's go in and check it out," Carla said, grabbing her friend's arm and pulling her into the store."I think you'd look really awesome in this," Carla continued, lifting the outfit off the rack for Shelly to see. "Yeah, it's cute, but I'm too fat for it. I'd look terrible in something like that. I really need to lose some weight," Shelly said, glancing in the mirror and sighing. "You're kidding!" Carla responded. "You're not fat! In fact, if you ask me, you could afford to gain a few pounds!" "Come on, you must be blind. Look at this," Shelly said, pointing to her middle. "Everybody has flat stomachs but me. No matter how hard I exercise, I can't seem to get rid of this bulge!" she complained. "I give up!" Carla said. "I know girls who would die to have a body like yours, and you're complaining? I don't get it! Let's go," Carla shot back with a tone of disgust. "Well, it's time to go anyway. Remember, our moms said to meet them at the food court when we're done shopping," Shelly reminded Carla. "Food? Yum. Sounds good to me!" Carla said, her face brightening. "Let's get something to eat!" she suggested. When they reached the food court Carla asked, "What would you like? The treat's on me tonight." "Well, thanks, but everything here is so fattening. I'm really trying to watch my weight. Maybe I could just get a salad and a diet soda or something," Shelly said. "I can't believe it!" Carla responded. "All this good stuff here to choose from, I'm treating, and you're going for a salad? Come on, get real. Let's get some pizza, OK?" she urged. "Well, if you insist," Shelly said sheepishly, not wanting to hurt her friend's feelings. Shelly ate a couple bites of pizza and then made a dash for the rest room. Turning to Shelly's mom, Carla said, "I think something's wrong with Shelly. She thinks she's fat, and she hardly wants to eat. Seems really weird to me." "Thanks for sharing that with me, Carla," Shelly's mom said thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it she has been acting strange lately," she said, heading toward the rest room to check on Shelly. "Sounds like Shelly might have an eating disorder," Carla's mom said to Carla. "Eating disorder?" Carla asked. "What's that? "Well, an eating disorder is a problem that affects the way a person thinks and feels about themselves. The problem seems to be most common in females, and most often pre-teen and teenage girls. One type of eating disorder is called anorexia nervosa. A person who has this condition thinks of herself as overweight and goes to the extreme with dieting. Someone with bulimia, another type of eating disorder, might eat lots of food and then try to throw it up so they won't gain weight. Some people suffer from both problems." "Yuk! How disgusting!" Carla replied. "How do you treat something like that?" "Good question. It's not as easy as helping someone with a physical kind of illness like diabetes. With a psychological or emotional disorder like bulimia or anorexia, the problem is much more complicated to treat. The first thing Shelly's mom needs to do is get her to a good counselor. And I think there's a support group that meets every week at the library." "What's a support group?" Carla asked. "That's a group of people who have similar problems. They come together to talk about how they cope with their problems and give support to other group members." "Oh, I get it. Kind of like Alcoholics Anonymous." Carla nodded. "Yes, you've got the idea. Oh-here they come. Are you ready to go? I think Shelly's mom and I need to have a talk . . ." Carla's mom began, beckoning to Shelly and her mom, and hurrying toward the mall exit. Back to Top |
||