c r aighead l ab : T o dd D e v ea u ; wa l k : C o u r tes y ki r ste n hag l u n d
Haglund (left) beams at the crowd minutes after being crowned Miss America 2008; Haglund (above) leads a walk for her foundation, which helps girls who need treatment for eating disorders.
thoughtful questions, has the ability to see connections, and writes very well. Probably because of her extensive public speaking, she is extraordinarily poised when dealing with questions in class. She responds in paragraphs that flow logically and thematically. Even without the Miss America title, it would be clear she’s going to do important things in the future.” Haglund has continued to pursue her pageant platform by starting the Kirsten Haglund Foundation to assist girls who need treatment for eating disorders. The foundation has given financial assistance to thirteen girls so far and has helped countless others by advocating for their treatment,
1 million men in the US struggle with one of these disorders— while millions more engage in binge eating or compulsive overeating. “At Emory’s counseling center, we see a lot of students, even medical students, with eating disorders,” Craighead says. A person with anorexia typically falls below a certain weight—for adults, a body mass index of 18.5. Their diet is usually very restricted and often vegetarian, Craighead says. “In many cases,” she says, “people who start with
anorexia move on to binging and purging because the biological pressure to eat is so strong it breaks through now and then.” Bulimia traditionally involves binging followed by a “maladaptive compensatory behavior”— mostly vomiting, but this can also take the form of laxatives, over-exercising, or fasting. “Most bulimics are close to normal weight, since purging is actually one of the least effective ways to compensate—about half the food stays in the body. So we try to teach bulimics in recovery to learn to be satisfied with just eating half the amount.” Assistant Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine Teresa Beck treats patients with eating disorders and trains residents with a personal perspective. “I developed an eating disorder during medical school and hid it
assisting with insurance, and providing encouragement. Haglund speaks at events all over the country about body image and overcoming anorexia. “Parents can sometimes think it’s just a phase,” she says. “But if you catch it early, like anything else, there’s a much better chance for recovery.” Haglund also is considering career opportunities in broadcast journalism. And, just as Sean Hannity predicted, she is looking forward to her wedding this summer. “Besides Kirsten being a pleasure to my eyes,” says fiancé Ryan Smith, regional sales manager for the Internet marketing company ReachLocal, “the traits that struck me were her ability to communicate clearly and intelligently about many subjects, her philosophy of life, her poise and strength under pressure, and her spiritual clarity about who God is.” Haglund admires the romance between her grandparents, who were dating when her grandfather was sent to fight in the South Pacific in World War II. “For her talent in the Miss America pageant, she sang ‘Goodnight Wherever you Are’ to him,” she says, “and he carried a photo of her in her swimsuit.” Her grandmother died last summer, but Haglund often wears the diamond and sapphire ring her grandfather designed for his own Miss Michigan. As she leaves Starbucks to meet with her pastor and go over preparations for her wedding, Haglund notices a butterfly flit through the door into the coffee shop. She turns around and gently shoos it back outside. “You don’t want to live in a glass box for the rest of your life,” she tells it. Then Miss America 2008 drives off in her bronze Jeep Liberty, a slightly dazed barista staring after her.
from my family for six years,” she says. “Mine started, just like most, with dieting to lose a few pounds. I use my experiences to help many of my patients with their own problems related to compulsive or emotional eating, obesity, poor body image, perfectionism, and all that goes along with that.” Often, there’s a migration between all three disorders— anorexia, bulimia, and binging. “The contagion effect is huge,” says Craighead, which explains how eating disorders can run rampant through dorms and sororities. And dangerous new influences exist, like “pro-ana” groups on social media sites that glorify and offer tips about anorexia. Health problems may not show up until middle age, and the main, irreversible consequence is bone loss. “You only have a window of time, twelve to twenty-three, to
lay down all the bone that you’re going to get,” Craighead says. “You have to eat real food and have enough weight on. If your bones are fragile when you’re older, there’s no way to fix it.” Professor of Psychiatry Nadine Kaslow, also the psychologist for the Atlanta Ballet, says eating disorders are prevalent among ballerinas. Kaslow has been involved in ballet since she was three, and says the dance culture has always supported extreme thinness. “We used to have to wear our ideal weight and actual weight pinned to our leotards,” she says. “You weighed in once a week, and if you weren’t thin enough, you were publicly humiliated.” It’s gotten better, says Kaslow, but “you are still reinforced for being thin, that’s just the normative expectation. A cultural shift is needed.”—M.J.L.
summer 2012
magazine
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