On the other end of the eating disorder scale
By MIKE MARCHAND
I've seen the letters to the editor over the last couple of weeks asking for help from eating disorders, and I was happy to hear that those people are not alone and that there are places on campus to get the help they need. And I was silently waiting for a similar call from those on the opposite end of the eating disorder scale. Since no one stepped up, I will.
Many people are unable to control their impulse to eat. I am one of them. As a result, I am one of the 40 million Americans who weigh at least 20 percent more than their personal desired weight. Above the 20 percent mark, the risks for coronary artery disease, strokes, and diabetes increase, rising more sharply as the percentage increases more. For example, in men ages 15 to 39 whose weight is 40 percent above desired, there is a 55 percent increase in death from any cause, 70 percent from coronary artery disease, 75 percent from stroke, and 400 percent from diabetes. Contrast this with anorexia and bulimia, which only 8 million people suffer from, and estimates state that only 6 percent of serious cases result in death. As if that weren't enough, overweight people are big targets for insult. I don't remember seeing a character named "Bulimic Bastard" in the new "Austin Powers" movie. When was the last time you heard a joke that started with "Your mama's so anorexic ..."?
I share my own personal story to draw attention. On June 29, I went to my doctor's office to get my Notre Dame-mandated physical examination. Whenever I get a physical, I dread three things: stepping on a scale, and, well, ask any guy about the other two. Anyway, the scale said that I weighed ... uh, the number's not important, but it was a lot. And even though the rest of the results stated that I was in great shape for a person of "my stature," I decided that I needed to lower that number.
I should have decided that much sooner because being overweight sucks.
It sucks that when I buy a meal at South Dining Hall, the only places I allow myself to go are the salad bar, the fruit bar and the Oriental area, where I get my food specially stir-fried with no oil. It sucks that when I go grocery shopping and I buy boneless skinless chicken and a garden's worth of fruits and vegetables, I get funny looks from some cashiers who apparently expect me to get pork hocks and buckets of lard. It sucks that no matter how sophisticated I appear, I'm always compared to Chris Farley, who died at 33. And it sucks that I can pretty much consider about three-quarters of the available single female population off-limits, since I probably find them much more attractive than they find me.
In a sense, I'm alone in my quest, since I don't have one of the aforementioned support groups. But I don't really want one. After all, I can only blame myself for my weight (although based on the multimillion-dollar tobacco settlements, I could probably strike up a class-action lawsuit against Frito-Lay, Hershey and McDonald's).
Indirectly, though, Notre Dame is helping me out. I have to walk to get anywhere on campus. (I tried to crank that exercise up a notch by buying a bicycle, but the left pedal snapped off after a week and half.) Notre Dame Security gave me a parking area designation cleverly designed so that I have to park at least six miles away from wherever I need to go. Technically, I'm in the C1/Joyce South lot. I'm usually closer to Eck Baseball Stadium. I refuse to ride the elevator in O'Shaughnessy Hall — I'm afraid I'll break it. Even other people are helping me out: When my truck was towed from Turtle Creek because of a parking violation, the security guy that had it hauled made me walk about a mile to the nearest ATM because I had to pay in cash. I would have thanked him for the extra exercise had I not been fuming over a $95 fee. I could have bought another bike for that.
I guess I'm winning: I've lost 54 pounds as of Friday. This brings my weight to ... uh, well, I'll get back to you.
Mike Marchand is a junior English major who lives off-campus ... in a VAN down by the RIVER!! His column appears every other Monday, and his e-mail address is Marchand.3@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, October 11, 1999
