Fact or Fiction: Eating Disorders

On July 16, 1997, journalist Jennifer Dunning wrote an article for the New York Times about eating disorders among ballerinas.  The article, titled Eating Disorders Haunt Ballerinas, began with information about an intervention that two eating disorder specialists attempted to do with forty young ballet students at the School of American Ballet.  The article explains that the specialists were trying to understand “which girls developed or were predisposed to problems.”  Dunning then explains that the study was canceled after a year due to the fact that 60 to 70 percent of the students opted out.  Dr. Hamilton also points out in the introduction that denial is a large part of eating disorders.  The two specialists, Dr. Warren and Dr. Hamilton, gave the article credibility because of the fact that they are both experts in their field.  The credible sources ensure the reader that these facts are true and not just personal opinion.  Dunning received this information from the two doctors who did the study, so the facts about the study in the article must be true.

            Dunning then goes on to discuss the highly stressful and competitive world of ballet, and the pressure that is put on dancers to remain thin.  She says that this problem has created the need for many nutritionists and therapists to help dancers with their issues.  While this could be the author’s anecdotal information, much of this is stated on www.something-fishy.org.  The site says that Marie Camargo became a model for how ballerinas were supposed to look in the late eighteenth century, and that she was known for being very thin and shorter than her male partner. The look of the dancer is the "genre of the veritably, length of spine, the open stance and the lean look" (Street, 1994). This is derived from the court dance which attempted to portray a regal demeanor.  Dunning also states that eating disorders are difficult to treat in most ballet dancers.  All dancers know that to get into a dance company of choice they have to look like the other girls in the ballet world so that when they get on stage they all look the same.  According to www.something-fishy.org, “the dancers know this and before applying for a dance company make sure that their bodies conform to the ideals of the dance company. The edge (being smaller than all other) that is gained through anorexia may be what gets them into the dance company.” 

            The article goes on to discuss the prevalence of eating disorders, mainly anorexia and bulimia, among women who are mostly white and middle to upper class.  These facts and other information about eating disorders is clearly stated on many websites, including webmd.com, allaboutlifechanges.org, avalonhills.org, and many others.  However, Dunning reports a statistic quoted by Dr. Warren.  “Dance is one of the worst areas. The average incidence of eating disorders in the white middle-class population is 1 in 100. In classical ballet, it is one in five.”  I could not find these exact statistics, however many statistics similar to this are stated on the sites listed above.  The article also states that many dancers fall into eating disorders because they are often perfectionists, and in need of control.  “People with eating disorders often use food and the control of food in an attempt to compensate for feelings and emotions that may otherwise seem over-whelming. For some dieting, bingeing, and purging may begin as a way to cope with painful emotions and to feel in control of one’s life, but ultimately, these behaviors will damage a person’s physical and emotional health, self-esteem, and sense of competence and control,” (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org). 

            While this article is filled with valid information about eating disorders among ballerinas, it is also filled with personal opinions from choreographers, instructors, and company directors.  It seems to me that in any article, including this one, journalism is both subjective and objective.  Although readers see articles as a way to find truth about certain issues, journalism seems to be filled with both truth and opinion.