U.K. mother welcomes eating disorder over weight problem

ummmm.....who's the one who needs therapy? i dealt with an eating disorder for 15 years of my life, am thankfully in recovery now, but FORCING that on a child, to me, is one of the worst things u can possibly do; the mom should be in therapy first of all, to save her daughter from the years of trauma to come

Being skinny isn't everything. I myself am severly underweight (partially because of genetics and partially because of an ED) and I get teased for being small just as much as big people get teased for being big! I hate wearing tight clothing or even going out to eat because it's so frustrating and embarrassing to deal with people being rude to me and no one standing up for me because, although it's wrong to tease a fat person for being fat, it's not considered rude to tease a skinny person for being skinny.

as someone battling eating disorders for 18 years this is sickening and this mother is going to destroy her childs' life and mental well being. How does this mother still have custody? For her daughters sake someone needs to intervene quickly. I wish the mother could see these posts and feel like the failure of a role model she is.

No CPS in the U.K.?

That girl needs to be taken from her mother, she will die under that care. I would rather have a fat child than a child with an eating disorder.

That is abuse. The child needs to be taken away by child protective services, or whatever the U.K. has that is comparable.

This child is absolutely not underweight. However the scary thing is the following? How much would she weigh if she was eating what a child her age is supposed to eat. Her Mom has to focus on nutrient packed food such as vegetable, fruit, beans and nuts. C.

Kids learn best by example. Want a healthy, thin (not "skinny" but healthy thin) kid? Stop overeating yourself and start exercising and slowly get to a healthy weight yourself! Your kid will learn by example that eating healthy and exercising makes mommy look and feel better! All this woman is teaching her kid is that food is a source of shame and to hoard, hide and binge in secret.

And to the lady that said that she can't get a man to treat her good because she's fat? Um I'm technically obese (but working on losing the weight, finally) and I'm getting married to a wonderful man next year. He loves me "as-is" and is supportive of my efforts to lose weight because he wants me to be happy with myself and healthy. And no he's not fat either, nor is he really a "chubby-chaser." He loves my smile, my eyes and my personality first and foremost. I think that lady can't get a man to treat her well because she allows men to treat her poorly. Men who are mean abusive and users look for women that are weak minded and have poor self esteem. Build yourself up and believe you deserve good treatment and good men will find you.

But yeah, this mom shares the same eating disorder I have. It's called overeating. It, like every other eating disorder is hard to overcome but it can be done. Don't compensate for your eating disorder by giving your daughter a different one. Fix yours and help your daughter avoid getting one of her own!

this makes me disgusted! i think the child needs to be taken away from her mother!! isn't that neglect?? and as far as an eating disorder is concerned.. you don't just get one to be thin and then get over it over night. this is the #1 mental illness that kill people!! the #1!!! i know i have had an eating disorder for 15 1/2 years and i am 26. if i new what i was getting into i would take it back in a heart beat! and if it was that easy to recovery from, i would stop now! unfortunately, that's not how eating disorders work. this is not an "ideal" life and it is killing me but i can't seem to stop! because this mom is doing this to her child.. the kid is going to have an eating disorder and for all we know, her mom just might kill her in the end... just because she wants her to be skinny perfect and popular. she isn't going to be popular if she spends the rest of her life in and out of eating disorder facilities!! this makes me freakin sick. the mom needs to go to jail or get help.. this kid is going to have problems for the rest of her life. horrible!! absolutely horrible!!

This makes me sick. I've been struggling with an eating disorder for years now and I can't imagine a mother ever wanting this for her daughter. My mom has cried and begged me to eat more. It's a miserable existence, having an eating disorder. It's much much MUCH harder to get over an eating disorder than hitting the gym to lose weight. I hope the authorities take the little girl away from that monster.

how dare her. she wants to have the perfect little girl to be popular and skinny. well thats bull crap. i dont know what she is thinking olny giving her less then half of that she needs on a daily basis. thats grounds for having a something more then just an eating disorder. and its going to be all her fault.

I would like to respond to lovesnyfood. Weight watchers is a program which ENCOURAGES healthy eating for children and adults alike. It doesn't say 'don't eat that' EVER. It provides guidelines for nutritional and actually teaches people how to maintain their health while enjoying food. I imagine the children becoming obese had less to do with the program and much more to do with the mother's view on food and eating.

while this is totally unacceptable behavior from this mother...and she should herself be in therapy, I really have to beg to differ with the poster who said, if you are fat you can just lose weight..as if it was the simplest thing to do...it isn't...and there are emotional, psychological and mental issues that are also carried by the overweight. They are the butt of cruel jokes, taunts, job discrimination, health insurance discrimination...some spend their lives doing nothing BUT dieting...trying their damnedest to lose 5 pounds! Contrary to the abundant ignorance of this nation,fat people do not spend their entire day gorging on junk, slurping down soda,and stuffing their faces with cake. Many heavy people, myself included, eat three reasonable meals a day, exercise at least 3 times a week, and don't at all like soda, sugar, ice creme, chocolate,or anything overtly sweet...I don't...those are all things I highly dislike...and yet, my weight has not budged an ounce in 25 years. I weigh the exact same thing I did 25 years ago...not a pound more, not one less...So despite your flip " fat people can just lose weight" ...it is NOT an easy thing to do for some...for some, the fat just WON"T come off. My own mum was dire ill in hospital, and on IV...no food at all for a week,and the woman GAINED 10 pound! Explain that!!!!!~ I am aware it was mostly fluid weight from all the IV ...but none the less, most folk without food,and that ill would LOSE weight and not gain. Clearly this does not in any way condone what this woman is doing to this child....it is NOT the way to prevent obesity in anyone....best this can be done by keeping her active, limiting empty calorie foods, and teaching her to eat balanced and healthy.

Two Questions...
-Why is this child still in this woman's custody?
-Why is nothing being done to sterilize this woman and keep her away from all children?

That's just SICK! There's no other way to put it! It's...sick! That woman is not a mother. She is the disgusting one. I hope they let that little girl read the commentsso she can know this; she's not the problem, she is beautiful, and lovely no matter what her mother thinks. Someone, call child protective services, call an anorexic hotline! The girls who want a motherlike this have their faces shoves into toilet bowls and into their half-digested lunch. I hope to god (and I'm an atheist!) that the child gets out. Is there even an anorexic hotline? If there isn't, call the Trevor Project or something for the love of Jesus!

"Fat for life"? Sure, if you spend your nights stuffing your face with the food you won't let your kid eat and feeling sorry for yourself. Idiot.

the eating disorder she is most likely to create is bingeing and obesity. how ironic. maybe she should try helping her develop a meth addiction, that really promotes lean bodies.

wow, crazy woman! this can actually be considered as emotional abuse or neglect. Poor kid.

I was a nanny for 2 girls in the late 80's. The girls' mother was a super nice lady and we always got along very well, I rarely had any issues with the rules she set for the girls, because most of them made sense (limits on T.V. watching and on playing video games, both kids enrolled in after school activities and sports, making sure they got their homework done before they could play, etc.). The only time we ever clashed was over her policies on food. She had battled weight all of her life, and she didn't want her girls to have the same problems. Not a bad idea, but how she went about doing it was wrong. She forced her children to eat things they hated (never a good idea), she denied them sweets and junk food. She used certain foods and beverages (such as soda - which still had to be diet and caffine free) as rewards for eating things they hated. Food became an item of control. The older girl ended up being anorexic, and was in therapy for many years. The younger girl ended up being an extremely overweight, binge eater, and a gambling addict. Fortunately, both of them have gotten their problems under control, and are both doing much better now, but it is a perfect example of what can happen when a parent emparts their body image issues to their children. I hope someone steps in soon to help this little girl and her mother before something irrepairable happens to either of them.

"a women being pretty and skinny is all that is important to many men. If it was personality that counted, I would have dozens of men lined up wanting to marry me but instead because I am fat, no man wants a woman like me unless its to use and abuse me"

To the woman who made this comment, maybe you're just looking in the wrong places or at the wrong kind of man, or maybe your weight has affected your self-esteem so much that it comes across to the men you're meeting. I have always been overweight, but I am very attractive, I take care of myself, and although I am overweight, I am in very good physical condition, and I have an outstanding personality. My sister has always been skinny. I have never had a problem with finding men who are interested in me, nor has my sister. However, I have had far better luck than my sister in finding men who want something more than arm-candy a trophy woman, or a piece of tail. There are countless, attractive (sometimes extemely attractive), attentive, smart, wonderful men who don't care that you are overweight. My current boyfriend gets mad at me when I make a negative comment about my body size, he only wants me healthy and happy, not skinny and miserable!

As to the article, I agree with the vast majority of the comments, what this mother is doing is already having a negative impact on her daughter. Both of them need help and if mom won't get it then someone should interviene