KAELYN CARSON had everything. She was a member of the National Association of Collegiate Scholars; she won the title of Miss Michigan American Teen, and she was a budding star on the Central Michigan University track team.
But in 2001, at age 20, Kaelyn Carson lost her lengthy battle with anorexia nervosa. At the time of her death, the 5-foot-8 beauty weighed a scant 79 pounds.
Now if you're thinking that Kaelyn Carson was a bubbly blonde with sparkling blue eyes, you're wrong--Kaelyn Carson was a Sister, and her tragic life was proof that, despite the hype, eating disorders are no longer the "affluent White girl's affliction."
Today health experts have discovered that young Black females in the 'hood are starving themselves intentionally (anoxeria nervosa). Other Black women are bingeing and purging (bulimia nervosa) on the campuses of historically Black colleges and universities, while many in corporate America are crash-dieting and abusing laxatives in a dangerous, sometimes deadly, attempt to control their weight.
Researchers Ruth H. Striegel-Moore and others report in the study, "Recurrent Binge Eating in Black American Women," that recurrent binge eating is more common among Black women than White women, and that "Black women were as likely as White women to report binge eating or vomiting.., and were more likely to report fasting and the abuse of laxatives or diuretics."
But why are Black women slowly killing themselves to be thin? What's behind the deadly cycle of eating disorders that is quietly engulfing some in the Black community?
For starters, Black women are no longer generally celebrated for their curves. Some experts argue that for every beautiful (and curvaceous) Queen Latifah heralded as a standard of beauty on TV, there are at least 100 thin, White Hollywood types like Jennifer Aniston. "We're noticing a trend of more severe eating disorders among African-American young girls," explains eating disorder specialist Gayle Brooks, Ph.D., vice president and clinical director of the Renfrew Center of Florida. "And this trend is going to continue as the whole African-American culture becomes immersed in White European cultural values. Today it's extremely difficult for an African-American girl to be insulated within the Black community so that she is not affected by the values of the dominant society."
Recent studies have shown that some Sisters, commonly considered to be overachievers, are more likely to develop an eating disorder than others because of their constant quest to be perfect. Other Sisters are plunged into eating disorders by constant dieting, according to eating disorder specialist Shikana Temille Porter, Ph.D., director of psychology training at St. John's Child and Family Development Center in Santa Monica, Calif.
"Every eating disorder can be traced back to a diet," Dr. Porter argues. "The whole diet mentality, looking to alter your body because you are trying to fit into the thin cultural ideal within this country will cause you to restrict your eating, take diet pills and laxatives and throw up. This causes havoc in your whole body system, and even death."
Eating disorders also are triggered by life's stressors, emotional trauma or tragic events.
On the Black Living online Web site, Kimberly, 29, says that she quickly descended into a bout with anorexia after being date-raped. Kimberly writes that she believed having a curvaceous body attracted the rapist, so she was determined to change her physique.
"If I didn't get rid of those curves, some boy or man would want to rape me again," she writes. "I started taking over-the-counter diet pills, eating less and exercising more. My curves finally disappeared, but so did my drive to keep the curves off. I was obsessed with losing weight and not getting raped again, but my body was so tired of the abuse. By this point anorexia had completely taken over me."
Kimberly consumed large amounts of food and purged herself by ingesting ipecac syrup (commonly used as an emergency treatment for certain kinds of poisoning or drug overdose) to induce vomiting.
As if bingeing and purging weren't hazardous enough, incorporating ipecac syrup into the purge routine is especially deadly, as University of Michigan graduate student Marna Clowney discovered. Clowney has been battling with anorexia and bulimia for more than 20 years, but it was the bingeing and purging with ipecac syrup that nearly killed her.
"Ipecac is very hard on the heart, and I weakened my heart muscles while abusing it," Clowney reveals. "I had a minor heart attack when I was 19."
Clowney, who is biracial (she is Black and Native American), believes her eating disorder was triggered initially by a pre-teen identity crisis, and the eating-disorder pattern escalated after her parents divorced.
While dealing with anorexia, some days Clowney wouldn't eat anything at all. "With the anorexia, I was and exercising compulsively," Clowney recalls. "I didn't drink or eat anything for days--the longest period I went without food was 6.5 days. I'm 5-foot-11 and my lowest weight was 109 pounds."
Clowney also slipped into bulimia nervosa. "With the bulimia, I would go on these binges where I would eat cartons of ice cream, whole packages of cookies and a whole pizza in half an hour. And then I would get rid of it."
As with most people who abuse their bodies by starving and purging regularly, Clowney's health problems are numerous. "My teeth enamel is worn away [as the result of] the vomiting, and I have several teeth that are completely decayed," she tells EBONY. "I also have intestinal problems; I must take medication in order to have a bowel movement."
Other common health problems associated with eating disorders include malnutrition, dehydration, stomach ruptures, esophagus tears, serious heart, kidney and liver damage, and death, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Psychological effects include low self-esteem, feelings of shame and guilt, and depression.
The Road to Recovery
Recovering from an eating disorder entails at least three important steps: 1) Seeking professional counseling to address the underlying emotional or psychological issues that may lead to the use of food as a coping mechanism; 2) Seeking medical treatment to address the physical damage and to receive instructions on a healthy lifestyle and eating plan; and 3) Finding an adequate support system to achieve and maintain a healthy and realistic
Sisters must educate themselves on the signs of an eating disorder because they might find resistance from a traditional medical community that has yet to fully accept the possibility of eating disorders in Black women, suggests Dr. Gayle Brooks of the Renfrew Center in Florida.
"An eating disorder is an illness; it's an emotional problem that can be fixed," Dr. Brooks says. "There is treatment for it. But because the belief is that women of color [are not affected by] eating disorders, there are a lot of women who are out there suffering because they feel like they are not supposed to have this disorder."
Today, Clowney is a survivor who is joining the fight to save other lives as the executive director and creator of an online support Web site for women and teens with eating disorders. She is also working toward her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan.
And Kaelyn Carson, the young Sister who lost her battle with anorexia back in 2001, did not die in vain. Today, Kaelyn's family and friends host the annual Kaelyn Carson Walk-A-Thon to raise awareness of eating disorders and to raise funds for the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.
Dr. Shikana Porter of the St. John's Child and Family Center in Santa Monica, strongly urges Black women everywhere to get involved immediately if there is suspicion that a loved one may be afflicted with an eating disorder. Sisters also must refrain from judging their worth by their dress size. "The solution is to strive for healthy-body acceptance and body-esteem," she says. "Additionally, adopt healthy lifestyle practices, such as exercising and making healthy nutritional choices, that are life-affirming and life-sustaining."
WARNING SIGNS OF EATING DISORDERS
The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, the oldest and largest non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating the problems of eating disorders, lists several telltale signs of a person at risk of developing an eating disorder.
ANOREXIA NERVOSA
* Deliberate self-starvation with weight loss
* Intense, persistent fear of gaining weight
* Refusal to eat or highly restrictive eating
* Continuous dieting
