Making Weight

I don’t need to rehash why Kim Kardashian has received criticism from many quarters over the last week. Indeed, describing her restricted eating and extensive exercise regime just to fit into a dress was irresponsible. Millions have heard her story, and a certain proportion of those, who might be vulnerable to this kind of information, could be negatively influenced. That is a big deal. No two ways about it. Any dietician or nutritionist can tell you that this kind of restricted eating is not sustainable, and may trigger binge-restriction cycles and other patterns of disordered eating.

Ultimately, we shouldn’t be getting our nutrition advice from celebrities. And we probably need to remember that they’re people too, who feel the same influences and pressures as the rest of us. This may sound a bit like complaining about ‘my diamond shoes hurting my feet,’ but when your image and body is the way you make a living, I can only imagine the pressure is even greater. She’s not the only one to do this in the name of fashion. Or career. Or ridiculous beauty standards. However, watching the discourse over the last few days, it appears that she is more fair game for abuse than others who have also admitted to doing something similar. It appears that being a ‘social media star’ makes her less than worthy than those who shed weight for what we perceive to be more noble causes. Last I checked, we’re all people. Yet, certain types of potentially unhealthy weight loss and gain are to be more celebrated or respected or allowed than others. When in reality, all kinds of dangerous eating habits encouraged by various industries should be called out, and the individuals concerned should be assisted in dealing with the pressures they are under.

Actors do it all the time for movie roles. Joaquin Phoenix was lauded for his dedication to his depiction of the Joker, even though he admitted in interviews that he found it hard to walk up a flight of stairs. Beyoncé followed a juice diet to shed the pounds before she shot the movie Dream Girls. MMA fighter Paddy Pimblett openly discusses his rapid weight gain and loss cycles with his fans. What some boxers go through to make weight must be torturous. Body builders struggle. Jockeys have spoken about surviving on black tea on race days. Judging by some of the reaction I’ve seen online, many of us still feel that’s ok, and not at all damaging to potentially vulnerable onlookers, in the pursuit of glory. A title. A trophy. A best Oscar nomination and award. Or because they’re less famous than a Kardashian. I’m not for one minute blaming these athletes. This is the world they live in, and ‘blame’ needs to go towards organisations who facilitate this, and refuse to evolve even though we know it’s unhealthy.

Many outside of elite sport believe that athletes are always carefully managed by coaches and medics and nutritionists to help optimise their weight and performance goals. Unfortunately, that’s not always the way. Even if making a particular weight isn’t part of the equation, pressures to be thin for performance gains or looking ‘fit’ are rife within sport. Most sports emphasise being lean, or slight body types like in athletics or gymnastics. Many, many athletes, from your local GAA or soccer club up to people who have competed at Olympics or World Championships suffer from disordered eating and sometimes severe conditions like anorexia or bulimia nervosa due to the implicit pressures to look a certain way. Many female athletes lose their periods due to a combination of extreme dieting and over-exercising. It’s impossible to put a figure on how many athletes suffer from this kind of distress, as there is still such a stigma about mental health disorders amongst the general population, never mind sport. Jockeys are another group of people who take restricted eating to the extreme. They have no choice. Otherwise they don’t ride. Things are improving, but more still needs to be done about the psychological and physical dangers of chronic weight cycling. A review published last year, was harrowing reading.  

One jockey reported using daily laxatives to make weight. Others described induced vomiting and massively restricted diets. Nearly 90% of jockeys reported experiencing stress, anxiety and depression. Irritability when hungry. Working out in sweat-suits. Impaired decision-making. This is replicated the world over in various sports, and if we are to worry about Kim Kardashian’s example, we should also worry about the way we have normalised restricted eating in many different arenas, and not just the world of fashion. We are surrounded by it. Down to women being asked when they are shopping for wedding dresses what size they plan to whittle themselves down to for the big day.

Finally, eating disorders are complicated. People don’t choose them. Some may be able to remember a moment that began their descent. Tragically, someone’s tv lightbulb moment may be Kardashian’s description of ‘clean’ eating. Others may have nothing to do at all with the internalisation of diet culture, but their mental distress manifests itself in undereating. Eating disorders are dangerous. They kill more people every year than any other mental illness. So we need to take it seriously. But if we’re going to do that, we need to take a good long look at ourselves and our internalised notions of what ‘healthy’ or ‘safe’ is. We need to ask ourselves why it’s ok for a gymnast to starve themselves before getting into a leotard for a competition, but it’s not ok for someone like Kim Kardashian to do the same for her equivalent career peak. Both industries depend on looking a certain way.

Disordered, unhealthy eating is not good for anyone, be you a Kardashian, an athlete, or just an onlooker. Maybe the real sport isn’t the people cutting and making weights to meet certain targets or ideals. Maybe the sport we all enjoy a bit too much is cutting people down if we feel they deserve our ire. And that’s not good for anyone’s mental health.

*If you’re affected by any of the issues raised here, please visit www.bodywhys.ie or speak to your healthcare professional.