It’s interesting to be an American.  On the one hand, education about eating disorders is out there for parents, educators and sufferers to see; on the other hand, we’re being told all the time that the obesity “epidemic” is at an all-time high and we really need to stop eating so much.

So which is it?  Or is it both?  Neither?  Has the media hyped both extremes?

Obviously, neither type of disorder is healthy.  Eating huge portions and rarely exercising is terrible for one’s body and soul; so, too, is restricting one’s diet to a few hundred calories per day (if that.) 

But are EDs and obesity really just two sides of the same coin?  Consider these thoughts:

1.  EDs and obesity both seem to stem from an individual’s inability to use food primarily for physical nourishment and energy.

2.  EDs and obesity may seem like “weight issues”, but most people I’ve talked with had deep underlying problems that contributed to the disorders.

3.  EDs and obesity are medically unhealthy.  Tip the scales too much and you risk internal damage; tip the scales too little and you’ll be in trouble, too.

4.  EDs and obesity are “labels” that are tough for sufferers to avoid.  Comments like, “She’s so fat!” and “She’s disgustingly skinny!” from strangers (and loved ones) are spoken frequently… not to mention callously.

5.  Sufferers of both EDs and obesity frequently feel unattractive, unworthy, unlovable.

The one difference I can see between the two disorders, however, is that people with EDs are often heralded for their “self-control” and “perfectionism”, while very overweight men and women are called “lazy”, “dumb” and “sloppy”.

I must admit that even though I know it’s wrong, as a woman living in America today, I would rather suffer from anorexia than binge eating disorder because I think it’s easier to be small than to be large as a general rule.  That’s damn sad.

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