Anorexia ... Like Bulimia Except With Self Control

On October 2, 2017, on-line retail giant Amazon advertised for sale, a black, hoodie sweatshirt with the following words, emblazoned in day-glo pink, "anorexia (an-uh-rek-see-uh) Like Bulimia except with self control." Apparently, it has been listed off and on since 2015.

This follows on the heels of another "hilarious" t-shirt for sale on Amazon which reads, "I have an eating disorder, I'm about to eat dis order of fries, dis order of nachos and dis order of wings." And of course, we must start them young.  Amazon lists a baby bib on sale which simply states, "I beat Anorexia."

Finally, Amazon still lists a hoodie and a number of sweatshirts which read, "Got Anorexia?" (a parody of the old, "Got Milk?" commercials).

Predictably and understandably, the eating disorder community, and by this I mean the various foundations, groups on Facebook and other social media sites and parents' groups wrote various emails to Amazon, threatened boycotts, the internet print media picked up the angst and published a number of articles on the insensitivity of the message.  Again predictably, Amazon pulled down the offending hoodies from its website.  And yet, as this blog is being published, we still await Amazon's public apology, a statement confirming all revenue realized from the sale of the clothing will be donated to eating disorder foundations and a commitment to greater education and research of this disease. Don't hold your breath.

After the anger and “strongly worded letters” to Amazon, and after the offending item was removed from its site, the eating disorder community was apparently placated and has focused its attention on other matters.  They pat themselves on the back for a job well done and move on.  However, in reality, it is a job not even half done.

Does society treat other diseases with such a cavalier attitude?  Cancer? For the next three weeks, we are going to see bands of women dressed in hideous shades of pink parading on our streets reminding us of breast cancer. Heart disease? Leukemia? HIV?  Why eating disorders for such derision?  23 people are dying every day as a direct result of eating disorders.  Where is the outrage?  Where is the corporate responsibility?  Why isn’t the eating disorder community up in arms regarding the fact that society today has not invested itself to save the lives of 23 people a day? Perhaps  the very uncomfortable answer can be found by the eating disorder community by looking into a mirror.

In early November, the National Binge Eating Disorder Association is hosting its national conference in Brooklyn, New York.  It has partnered with the larger National Eating Disorder Association for this event.  Its main sponsors include Monte Nido & Affiliates (eating disorder related), Oliver-Pyatt Centers (eating disorders), Eating Recovery Center, Metro Behavioral Health Associates Eating Disorder Treatment Center.

And yet, ten of the Fortune 100 wealthiest corporations in the United States are based in New York. According to Forbes, the top three most prestigious law firms in the United States are all located in New York City.  Six of the top 35 wealthiest foundations in the world are located in New York City.  New York City is home to some of the most powerful persons and companies in practically all industries.  And what do all of these entities have in common?  None are participating or are listed as sponsors for the BEDA event …and never have been.

Then there is the larger, National Eating Disorder Association which is based in Manhattan.  At their 2016 national conference, their top-of-the-line gold sponsors were listed as; Center for Discovery, Eating Recovery Center, McCallum Place Eating Disorder Centers, Rosewood Centers for Eating Disorders.

The Academy for Eating Disorders, a global professional association comprised of doctors, professionals, research scientists, and counselors held their annual conference, the International Conference on Eating Disorders in June 2017 in beautiful Prague, in the Czech Republic.  Their sponsors?  Again, all eating disorder related entities.

The point?  Are eating disorders this deadly disease taking the lives of people every 62 minutes or not?  Do eating disorders have the highest mortality rate amongst all mental diseases or not? We know the answer to those questions. This disease does not discriminate. It impacts people across socio-economic, racial, and national origin boundaries. It is the perfect killer. And it appears as if the eating disorder industry is fully content to stay within its own shell, to not wander outside of its protected silos, to not bring, kicking and screaming if need be, companies, foundations, law firms and corporations which are not on the surface, related to eating disorders into the fold. If the eating disorder industry approaches the wealthiest foundations in the world and are told, “no,” are we content with that answer and go away? Or do we not understand that “no” can mean, “not yet,” or “try again.”

These points apparently have been lost or not explored and the eating disorder industry remain insular and largely ineffective ...  with one notable exception.  Amongst all of the eating disorder foundations, community and industries, I could only locate one instance where one foundation understands that we must find growth outside of the industry. This past May, I had the privilege of attending the Ninth Annual East Coast Gala for Project HEAL.  Some of their sponsors included; Johnson and Johnson, the Fusion Education Group, and The Liebhamer Family. In California, Project HEAL enlists the support of Arianna Huffington and San Francisco 49ers president, Paraag Manathe. On line, Project HEAL states that it has reached out to business, social, and thought leaders in Silicon Valley. Project HEAL was started by Kristina Saffran and Liana Rosenman who met while they were in treatment.  Both of these exceptional women are under the age of 30, and despite not having decades of business experience to call upon, they have wisdom far beyond their chronological years and have clarity of vision. They obviously see that change in the industry is necessary and are working toward this.

So, we will remain asking where are the Amazons, the ebays, the Microsofts, Apples, and American Airlines? Where are the major law firms? They certainly have employees who are being ravaged by this disease. And yet, they, like our politicians and society in general remain on the sidelines passively watching this disease repeatedly win this macabre Game of Death it plays with us.

The eating disorder industry and community can no longer be content with merely writing “sternly worded letters.” We must learn to “think big” and to “act big.” We must push for the incredible power and wealth of the industrialized world to support us.  We must learn to think outside the box, to show these corporations that it is in their employees’ best interest to embrace the eating disorder industry and our efforts to stop the spread of this insidious disease.  Until we do this with strength and conviction, we will remain a punch line for jokes that are displayed on sweatshirts and hoodies.