Mar 20, 2002 09:16 AM
2613 Views
(Updated Mar 20, 2002 09:20 AM)
When I was growing up I was very thin. How thin? By 13 years of age I was 5 foot 10 inches and 100 pounds. I had no problem eating. I didn't starve myself or throw up, I was just thin. No one ever hears the flip side of being fat. When I was a teen I would have killed to be fat. When your fat you just can't lose the weight, when your thin, you starve yourself or throw up.
I was called all the names, bean pole, bones, and some others I won't mention. I ate all the time, but I soon found out from my mother, and my grandmother where the same way.
The name calling hurt when I was growing up. People looked at me like I was sick. Not like maybe I was just this way. They looked at me like, 'what is your problem? Quit throwing up your food.'
When I hit 20 years old I had 2 minor heartaches. It was do to low weight. For years my body was working over time to pump the blood. My heart had it. As a result I had a pacemaker put in when I was 23 years old. I had two very bad pregnancies, but thanks to great doctors I have two very healthy children. Low weight can cause all kinds of problems, just like being over weight.
I see teens that would love to look like Brittany Spears. Keep in mind that she has a trainer that tells her how to eat and exercise.
If you see your child looking a little too thin, call your doctor, find out what is going on. If you child needs to lose weight, get help to do it.
I am living proof that too thin is dangerous. Our kids see super models and actors, that are thinner then me.
Tell them you love them just the way they are, and keep telling them that.
