Media Contact: Johnny HagermanTelephone: 310-423-2270E-mail: johnny.ha[email protected]
LOS ANGELES, CA -- "For the last 20 years, I thought restricting, bingeing and purging food was the only thing that made me special." says Jean Larkin of Los Angeles, CA, "In April of 2000, I found out I was two months pregnant. I'd always wanted children, but never thought that dream would become a reality because of all the damage I've imposed on my body from anorexia-bulimia. Miraculously, with the help of Marlene Clark, a registered dietitian at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's outpatient Nutrition Counseling Center, my primary care physician and ob/gyn at Cedars-Sinai, I was able to take control of my eating disorder and give birth to a healthy baby girl."
"Up until the birth of my daughter, I lived most of my teen years and young adult life in and out of the hospital because of anorexia-bulimia. It became the one thing that defined me as a person, and even though it sounds strange, I felt like my disorder made me special -- set me apart from everyone else," says Larkin. At the age of 12, Larkin lost her father to brain cancer. Not understanding her father's death, while dealing with a strained relationship with her grief-stricken mother, Larkin sank into depression and blamed herself for her father's passing. Combined with her low self-esteem, Larkin turned to food to fill an emotional void -- leading to her 20-year battle with anorexia-bulimia. Standing at only 5'4", her lowest weight was a frighteningly unhealthy eighty pounds.
"I have been hospitalized over 36 times over the years," says Larkin, "eighteen times in psychiatric hospitals and eighteen times in medical hospitals. I was bingeing and purging about ten times a day. At one point, I tore my esophagus and was ordered by doctors to completely stop throwing up. I was so afraid to gain weight, I lived on a cup of shredded wheat and hot water once a day for an entire year." In many instances, Larkin hid her disorder from family and friends -- bingeing and purging in private, and even resorted to eating out of trash cans and drinking water from public toilets to help her purge.
Marlene Clark, RD, Registered Dietitian at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's outpatient Nutrition Counseling Center, estimates that more than one million Americans are suffering from eating disorders because of cultural and psychological issues, personality traits, and learned behavior. "People with eating disorders are often subject to depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, and use their eating disorder as a coping strategy to deal with deeper problems that are difficult to address directly," says Clark.
In Larkin's case, turning to anorexia-bulimia as a coping strategy became her only way of life, and nearly killed her. Anorexia nervosa leads to a state of starvation and emaciation, and is defined by an intense and irrational fear of body fat and weight gain, even when underweight. Half of these patients are known as anorexia restrictors, who reduce their weight by severe dieting. Larkin fell into the more common type of anorexia known as anorexia-bulimia, which is characterized by maintaining emaciation by purging. This type of anorexia is considerably more dangerous because of the physically taxing stress of constant regurgitation of food. After 20 years of depriving her body of vital nutrients and upsetting her body's natural digestive functions, Larkin suffered from osteoporosis (a severe bone degenerative disease) and was not far from losing her battle with anorexia-bulimia when she found out she was pregnant.
According to the American Dietetic Association, eating disorders are complex disorders involving two sets of issues and behaviors; those related to food and weight and those involving the relationship with one's self and with others. Clark states that people with eating disorders are preoccupied with food, weight and body image -- judging themselves based on how well they control what they eat, believing that others are judging them based on how they control their food. Larkin, determined to break the pattern of behavior in her own family, attributes her change in attitude to taking on the responsibility of motherhood.
"When I found out I was going to have a baby, my priorities had to change. I wasn't just taking care of myself anymore, I had another human being inside of me who deserved a chance at a healthy life." says Larkin, "My little girl saved my life by giving me a reason to live. I need to be around to take care of her, give her guidance, and help her to make healthy decisions. I realized I needed to do that by example."
Even though eating disorders are serious, and many times life-threatening, the experts at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center offer hope through a multidisciplinary approach for treating patients battling food addictions.
"A multidisciplinary team approach is the most effective way for treating patients with eating disorders," says Clark, "The treatment plan should consist of nutrition education, medical care, family counseling and psychotherapy. Here at Cedars-Sinai, I work with a team of qualified physicians, counselors and therapists who work hand-in-hand to help patients like Jean who have not previously succeeded at taking control of their eating disorders."
Her daughter, now age 2, has given Larkin a different outlook on life. "With the support of my husband, and the joy of taking care of my daughter, I don't feel powerless against my eating disorder or feel as though it defines me as a person. I'm taking it one step at a time, one day at a time."
Jean Larkin is now expecting her second child, and is due to give birth in September, 2002.
For more information on any of the dietary programs at Cedars-Sinai, please call 1-800-CEDARS-1 or 1-800-233-2771.
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For media information and to arrange an interview, please contact Johnny Hagerman via e-mail at [email protected] or call 310-423-2270.
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