Writing About Eating Disorders

By: Charles Bowen Ever since the death of rock star Karen Carpenter, media sensitivities to eating disorders has been high. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, compulsive eating, binge eating, even over-exercise all have earned spots in our lifestyles pages.

But once those stories are written and published, do we really know how to provide continuing coverage to this health problem that apparently is unique to our times? When an eating disorder story is not on the features budget for some time in the near future, where do your reporters -- and readers -- turn for relevant health information?

Despite a decidedly quirky name, a surprisingly detailed Web site from a pair of meticulous laymen can provide important first-alert data for your paper's health and fitness staff. Something Fishy -- a Web site that adds, with a wink, that "scales are for fish" -- is dedicated to educating the public about the reality of living with an eating disorder. It provides straightforward information on a host of conditions, along with personal testimonials from people struggling to develop a healthy relationship with food and exercise.

The site serves up advice on how to help loved ones with eating disorders as well as how to find out what can be done to lower the risk of further eating disorders. In addition, you also can use the site to search for treatment options in your area. Of particular interest to columnists perhaps will be the site's continuing reports on the cultural stereotypes that surround food and weight, often fueling sufferers' impulses toward binging and purging.

To use the resource, visit the site at http://www.something-fishy.org, where a frequently updated introductory screen reports new features on the site and upcoming events, such as online chats with experts. Direct your attention to the navigation bar down the left-hand column of the top page. Links here connect you to various departments, including relevant health news, backgrounders on the conditions, warning signs, and details on preventions and causes. Click any link to open a menu of sub-categories. For example, select "Issues, Signs, Factors" and the site opens a menu that includes discussions on mental health, "negative voices," self-perception, mind and body, genetics and biology, signs and symptoms, misconceptions, diabetes, and phobias.

Of particular interest to journalists will be the site's Treatment Finder, a state-by-state listing of mental professionals who specialize in treatment of eating disorders. Select Treatment Finder from the left-hand navigation bar and then choose Find Treatment from the resulting menu. The next screen displays a hyperlinked list of states and countries. Click a topic of interest. Incidentally, the site offers a form to be filled out by psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, counselors, social workers, support groups, nutritionists, dieticians, and medical doctors, as well as treatment hospitals wanting to be included in the database.

Looking for quotable experts on the subject of eating disorders and related conditions? The Find Treatment section also has a link to phone numbers of national organizations that deal with these health problems.

Other considerations for using this resource in your writing and editing:

1. Health and fitness writers might be interested in the site's discussion of medications and lab tests often used in the treatment of eating disorders. Click the Doctors & Patients link on the navigation bar and choose a topic from the resulting menu. The Medications subcategory has material on Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, and others. The Blood and Lab Tests section covers assorted tests doctors perform in the diagnosis of the conditions.

2. If you write about the site in your news columns, you might want to direct readers to the Helping Loved Ones section of the navigation bar. Here they can find advice and information about especially useful books. The site also has thoughts about what loved ones can't do for sufferers of eating disorders. Also of interest to readers will be the Prevention/Causes section, which has a large amount of material on the factors thought to contribute to eating disorders.

3. For an overview of the site's entire scope of data, scroll to the bottom of the introductory page and click the "Sitemap" link in the left-hand column.

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