A closer look at eating disorders

'Thin' is not in: Film profiles women in treatment

“Eating disorders now affect one in seven young American women and have become a mental health epidemic.”

Those are the words of filmmaker Lauren Greenfield, who walked into a facility for eating disorders, The Renfrew Center of Coconut Creek, Fla., to shoot the documentary “Thin.” Her words were transformed into faces of teenagers and young women struggling to become healthy, both in body and mind. Airing on HBO in November 2006, “Thin” became one of the cable network’s most highly rated documentaries.

On Wednesday, Oct. 17, the film will be shown at 7 p.m. in McDonnell Hall, Room 162, followed by a panel discussion with health professionals. It will be moderated by Barbara Baumgartner, Ph.D., associate director and senior lecturer of Women and Gender Studies in Arts & Sciences, who introduced Greenfield on campus last March as part of the Assembly Series.

“It’s important to identify these women as suffering from an illness, to examine the underlying complex causes of the illness, and send out the message that it’s never too late to begin the healing process,” Baumgartner said.

Baumgartner will be joined by Connie Diekman, R.D., director of University nutrition and president of the American Dietetic Association; Rebecca Lester, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences; Lisa Sinden-Gottfried, Ph.D., psychologist in Student Health Services; and student panelist Annie Lascoe.

For more information, call 935-7130.