Selected Coverage from CRC Miss America Eating Disorders Event
Costa Mesa, CA – Friday, April 9, 2010
(PHOTO ON FRONT PAGE OF PAPER AND STORY AND PHOTO ON FRONT PAGE OF LIFE SECTION)
April 13, 2010
Bringing eating disorders out of shadows
By LANDON HALL
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
COSTA MESA – In a roomful of experts on eating disorders, a former Miss America who first spiraled into anorexia at age 12 gave the most riveting account of the illness' devastating effects.
Kirsten Haglund, 21, told counselors and other health providers how her feelings of inadequacy and drive for perfection as a young ballet dancer made her diet to the point of obsession. She got help at 15, and only later, after she won the Miss Michigan and Miss America titles, did she begin speaking about her struggle.
Echoing a key message of last week's conference called "Eating Disorders: America's Silent Danger," she said pop-culture imagery encourages girls to live up to a slim body type that most can't hope to attain. In a country where 17 percent of school-age children and adolescents are obese — a threefold increase since 1980 — eating disorders represent the opposite extreme. According to estimates cited at the conference, 10 million women and 1 million men suffer from one. The most common are bulimia nervosa (bingeing and purging) and anorexia nervosa (a deep fear of gaining weight).
"I see it in girls I've babysat and girls that I've talked to. Girls as young as 5 who say, 'I'm fat,'" Haglund said. "What I see is the oversexualization of girls at a younger and younger age, and exposure to more and more media, and more of these images that are meant for adults, and diet images and messages. They're seeing this as normal. They see becoming a woman as 'OK, now I have to start thinking about what I'm eating. I can't eat this I'll get fat.' Instead of growing and learning more about themselves and embracing their womanhood and embracing their curves."
Haglund's problem began when she got into the summer program at the prestigious Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle. It was her first time away from home, and she felt intimidated by the immense talent of the other dancers, as well as their lean, lithe bodies. One by one, she began cutting elements out of her diet trying to lose weight — first carbs, then practically everything else. "It became addictive, the high at being able to control my food intake."
At first, her strategy produced some success. She started to look like the other dancers. But slowly she fell behind: Essentially starving her body, she lost energy and muscle tissue. "You start to see a positive effect, you see a glimmer of light, where you'll finally feel totally in control, then you'll finally be thin enough and finally be successful enough. It keeps you reaching for that, but it's a lie. You'll never get there. That's what keeps you in that abusive cycle."
Back home, Haglund grew depressed and withdrew from her friends. "No one wants to be around the adolescent girl who won't eat Little Caesars pizza," she said. Slowly her parents, both registered nurses, realized what was going and got her help. Doctor's appointments were made and then postponed. Finally, her mother, Iora Haglund, drove her to the pediatrician, but didn't tell her until they were on their way.
"She became enraged," Iora said. "She started to open the car door to jump out. I thought, 'If I slow down, she really will jump out,' so I just kept driving, and we made it."
"There was no way I wanted to go to the doctor. I was terrified," Kirsten said. "And of course when you're a teenager, everything is life and death. It was scary, because I had been so much in control of my life until that point."
Only through regular meetings with therapists, and learning about nutrition, was Haglund able to recover. Some might think it odd that she then chose to start competing in pageants, in which physical beauty is still highly valued. Haglund decided to confront her torment by making eating disorders her stated platform. After she won Miss America, she spent an unsettling year away from family (and therapists), and once again trying to live up to high standards of looks and grace. But she used the crown to discuss eating disorders and depression whenever she could.
The daylong conference was hosted by the Victorian Newport Beach Residential Programs for Eating Disorder Treatment. Kathy Sylvia, executive director of Sober Living by the Sea, which oversees Victorian and other treatment programs, says eating disorders are mental diseases like depression and bipolar disorder, which receive far more attention and federal research dollars.
"We have to actively remove the shame that's behind this kind of disease," she said. "Some people might say, 'Just eat!' A person is trying to protect themselves — from pain, from neediness. It's not as easy as just saying no and just eating."
It can be difficult to tell which came first: an eating disorder or an overlapping mental disorder like depression. But behavioral therapy works, says Barry Karlin, CEO of CRC Health Group, the behavioral-health provider based in Cupertino. The trick is finding the money for grants to perform large-scale clinical trials to quantify the efficacy of treatment so insurance companies will be more inclined to pay for them. The good news is that four years ago, 90 percent of treatment was paid for out of pocket by the patient.
"Today that's reversed," Karlin said. "Insurance companies are recognizing that preventive treatment is needed, otherwise the long-term cost is much higher."
Link to article: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/eating-243779-disorders-haglund.html#article-photos%23article-photos
Interviewed Kristen Haglund, Gen. McCaffrey, and Dr. Karlin morning of event.
Link: http://www.knx1070.com/pages/6769061.php
LIVE RADIO Interview of Kirsten Haglund on KFWB 980 AM (News/Talk – Los Angeles) – Mentioned CRC treatment programs for eating disorders.
RADIO AMERICA Interview of Kirsten Haglund by Alan Nathan, aired Saturday, April 17, 2010, 6:20PM on 99 stations nationwide. Link to mp3: http://feeds.radioamerica.org/podcast/BLP/audio/BL_17-04-10.mp3
(Haglund interview 17:40 – 22:35)
DAYBOOK APRIL 9, 2010, 11:00AM: Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund, and her mother, Iora Haglund; former White House Drug Czar, Four-Star General Barry McCaffrey; the Chief of the California Women’s Health Office, Terri Thorfinnson, appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger; and the CEO of the country’s largest behavioral treatment provider, CRC Health Group, Dr. Barry Karlin, will address a news conference. The Turnip Rose, 1901 Newport Boulevard, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
City News Service
April 8, 2010
URGENT CNS Network Advisory
Eds: Interviews with Kirsten Haglund, who was Miss America 2008, and other panelists including former White House Drug Czar/4-Star General Barry McCaffrey, CA Women's Health Chief Terri Thorfinnson, and Dr. Barry Karlin, will be available Friday morning before a news conference at 11 a.m. Friday at The Turnip Rose catering and reception business, 1901 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa. Haglund will participate in a conference on eating disorders and will talk about her own struggle with eating issues. To schedule an interview, call Bob Weiner at (202) 306-1200.
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER TV
Link to video: http://www.ocregister.com/video/?videoId=77883630001&play=now
(Owned by and inserted in the LA Times)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
‘Oh, the weird diet girl’
Former Miss America joins general and mom on stage to bring awareness to eating disorders.
By Tom Ragan
Two years ago, Kirsten Haglund was on top of the world after being crowned Miss America.
All eyes were on her as she broke into a smile and shook with excitement in front of millions of people watching her on national television.
On Friday, she took her place among a small panel of experts inside the Turnip Rose, a banquet facility in Costa Mesa.
It was quite the contrast to a Miss America pageant. And there was a silence as she approached the podium and talked about her personal battle with anorexia nervosa, which afflicts millions of women today.
“This is not just about statistics and numbers,” said Haglund, 21, an Atlanta resident and political science major at Emory University. “It’s a disease that’s transforming people’s lives and families’ lives. It’s addictive. I got high out of controlling my food intake, and nobody really wanted to hang out with me.
“After a while, I was known around school as ‘Oh, the weird diet girl.’”
She said the eating disorder came upon her when she was 12 years old, the result of competitive ballet classes and the preoccupation to look fit while on stage. So she decided to eat very little.
Her parents didn’t recognize the problem until she was 15. They quickly took her to a doctor, who diagnosed it and provided her with treatment — and a counselor.
Haglund has since decided to use her celebrity status to draw attention to the problem, which clinical experts say is as prevalent as depression and alcoholism but receives little federal funding — $28 million a year.
Sleeping disorders receive more federal funds, experts said, adding that in most states a licensed eating disorder facility does not exist. And if they do, they operate under the umbrella of some other treatment facility, like Sober Living by the Sea in Newport Beach, which serves at least a half dozen women who have eating disorders.
Sober Living is run by CRC Health Group, based in Cupertino. The group’s Chief Executive Barry Karlin was present at the conference.
So was former White House drug czar and Gen. Barry McCaffrey.
“This is not just a sorority girl’s problem, for God’s sake,” McCaffrey said. “The problem is widespread, and there’s a chance you could lose your daughters to cardiac arrest if you don’t catch it quick. Anorexia is basically acute starvation. Heart attacks are often the end result when you end up starving yourself.”
But to detect the problem, you first have to recognize the symptoms.
McCaffrey urged the audience to watch over their children closely, particularly between sixth grade and 12th grade, when behavioral problems, he said, tend to manifest themselves. Many like to call eating disorders the silent danger or the silent killer, often because the symptoms will go unnoticed — until it’s too late.
Haglund’s mother, Lora, also spoke at the conference.
“The first thing I thought about was Karen Carpenter,” she said, referring to the singer who died of anorexia nervosa in the early 1980s. “You have to learn how to be patient, to question everything and to relearn the way you see things around the household.”
As for Kirsten, she’s doing fine today.
Her tenure as a pageant queen is behind her and she’s using the $62,000 scholarship to attend Emory University. She said she hopes one day to work as a communications director for a large nonprofit organization that deals with humanitarian causes.
While she was Miss America for a year, between 2008 and 2009, she said she traveled 20,000 miles a month and spoke at countless events.
“There are only six states I haven’t been to,” she said, adding they are Alaska, Hawaii, North Carolina, Maine, Washington and Oregon.
Link to article: http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2010/04/11/entertainment/dpt-disorder041110.prt
April 6, 2010
Miss America speaks on eating disorders
By Rachel Terrazas
Kirsten Haglund, who was crowned Miss America 2008 and is 22, will appear at a news conference at 11 a.m. Friday to talk about her teenage struggles with the anorexia nervosa.
Up to 10 million girls and women and 1 million boys and men in the U.S. suffer from eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia, according to the National Eating Disorders Assn. The symptoms of anorexia include a fear of gaining weight or being seen as fat, or feeling fat despite dramatic weight losses, according to the association.
“Kirsten’s willingness to speak out is a huge piece,” said Robert Weiner, spokesman for event organizer CRC Health Group, a treatment provider for youth and adults struggling with behavioral issues. “Someone as well known and interesting as her to have this problem is a big help to bringing awareness.”
Haglund, who hails from Farmington Hills, Mich., and lives in Los Angeles, will appear alongside her mother, Iora, and a panel of experts at the conference at the Turnip Rose, 1901 Newport Blvd. Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the White House’s former drug czar, and Terri Thorfinnson, chief of California’s Office of Women’s Health, will be among the panelists.
The event, which is open to the public, will take place against the backdrop a daylong conference, whose theme is to raise awareness about the nation’s eating disorder crisis. The focus will be on anorexia and bulimia, not over-eating, Weiner said.
Link: http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2010/04/05/features/dpt-missamerica040610.txt
PHOTOS IN ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, April 14, 2010
2008 Miss America Kirsten Haglund speaks about her experience with anorexia nervosa during Friday's press conference on Eating Disorders at the Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Iora Haglund, left, mother of 2008 Miss America Kirsten Haglund, speaks about her experience with her daughter's fight with anorexia nervosa during Friday's press conference on Eating Disorders at the Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Attendees of Friday's eating disorders press conference listen to speaker Dr. Barry Karlin during Friday's event. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER