Jackie O must do better than this

IF you have a platform as large as Jackie O’s you need to do better by your young listeners than glorifying near-starvation diets, writes Mia Findlay.

JACKIE O’s comments this week about her weight loss and very limited diet struck a chord with me.

I am an eating disorder survivor and advocate for others afflicted by this crippling and deadly illness.

‘On the days when I eat less, I feel better about myself.’ Jackie told her audience on Tuesday morning.

So did I Jackie O, so did I.

When I was in the depths of anorexia, my day on the plate looked very similar to yours. And just like you, I didn’t eat like that every day. Some occasional pizza or a slice of toast if my eating disorder permitted it.

That’s precisely how I was eating shortly before I almost lost my life to the illness. It’s how many of the million Australians suffering from eating disorders are eating too.

If I’d heard Jackie and Kyle’s casual chat about her restrictive diet when I was sick and seen the media coverage applauding her 10 kilo weight loss, my eating disorder would have cheered her on.

Jackie O should have thought twice before glorifying a near-starvation diet on air. (Pic: Mega Agency)

I could have easily pointed to her diet and insisted I was fine, as my loved ones begged me to eat and warned me I would die. As a bonus, I’d have a brand new prescriptive diet to follow, starting with nothing but a black coffee for breakfast.

I’m by no means accusing Jackie O of having an eating disorder.

And I’m certainly not implying she is the first and only person of influence to make careless statements regarding diet and weight loss. Kim Kardashian’s endorsement of appetite suppressant lollipops ironically took the cake on that one.

What I am saying, as a survivor and advocate who hears from thousands of sufferers impacted by comments like these, is that people with this level of influence have got to do better.

Not as a matter of courtesy, but urgency.

Eating disorders kill more people than any other mental illness, with as many as one in five dying from anorexia alone.

Not to mention the sufferers we lose annually to bulimia, binge eating disorder, and OSFED (Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder). And that one million number I mentioned earlier? It’s rising.

The onset age for these illnesses used to be 15, that’s now dropped to 9 years of age. Eating disorders affect men and women of all ages, races and socio-economic backgrounds. They do not discriminate.

Are eating disorders caused by comments like Jackie O’s? Obviously not. They are complex psychiatric illnesses, which are about much more than food or wanting to be thin.

But do comments like these enable, exacerbate and normalise eating disorders? Undoubtedly.

Anyone with a platform as large as Jackie O’s has an obligation to their audience to educate themselves about the pervasive nature of eating disorders and to choose their words more wisely.

A more informed and considered approach to diet related statements won’t just save Jackie O from a clumsy clarification, it will surely save lives.

Mia Findlay is a body image coach and an ambassador for The Butterfly Foundation.

National Help Line: 1800 33 4673

@whatmiadidnext