STRANGER THAN FICTION: PUT THE MAGAZINES AWAY AND GET REAL

When I read the magazine article, I couldn't believe it.

Eight girls rented a two-story apartment while attending the University of Miami, in Ohio. Out of the eight, six of them had eating disorders.

They'd sit around the Doritos bowl at frat parties, nibbling away. Then, one-by-one, they'd slip off to the bathroom and make themselves vomit.

Another girl in the article made herself vomit so much that she couldn't control what set off the reflex. She died of a heart attack one day while brushing her teeth.

Then it was on the news Thursday. Universities all over the country will offer free screenings Monday for people who suspect they are anorexic (they don't eat) or bulimic (they binge and purge). The universities are doing it because 150,000 college girls in the country have eating disorders, according to the report.

At one time, I might have cracked a joke about eating disorders. I've even made statements like, "Too bad I can't be anorexic for a month!"

Now I don't think so.

Stephanie made the difference.

When I was 16, my friends and I spent lots of time in malls. Stephanie and Kara were a couple of my mall buddies. Kara was "pleasingly plump" like me, so we were usually looking in the same section. Stephanie was just right. She had a great figure, tanned all summer long and attracted a lot of attention from guys.

But she was absolutely obsessed with her looks. When Kara and I would stroll over to the one-piece bathing suit section, she would head straight for the bikinis, grabbing them off the racks and running over to us. She'd ask if we thought she was thin enough for them or if she would look good in certain styles.

Not long after the bathing suit episodes, the vomiting started. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. We'd go to a fast food joint, order our stuff and sit down. Stephanie inevitably had a single hamburger and ice water.

One bite of the hamburger and she was off to the ladies room. We learned not to go with her.

Eventually, she didn't even bother to order the hamburger and simply lived off aspirin and ice water. Her friends ignored it. Her family begged, screamed, cried and bargained, but nothing worked. The situation finally climaxed one night when her father, worn down by all the worrying, started shoving baked potatoes into her mouth.

Stephanie responded in her usual manner. Her family committed her to a psychiatric ward.

The good news is, 10 years later, Stephanie is better. She put on some weight, married and had a healthy child.

But not every story ends that well.

Instead of celebrating our diversity, we Americans pass judgment on each other. Either you're a "10" or a "5" or maybe, if you're really fat, just a "1." On television, the "beautiful" people are stick-thin, emaciated women in figure-hugging clothes.

Ladies' magazines don't talk as much about how to be a loving, caring, moral person as much as they do How to Keep Your Man! or This Season's Hottest Colors!

I'm not saying fitness is wrong -- everyone should be concerned about the food they put into their bodies and how much they exercise. What I'm saying is that something is wrong when teen-aged girls would rather be dead than overweight.

I know the magazine article and this column aren't going to make a whole lot of difference, but Monday's free screenings are a step in the right direction. Too bad we're not having them in Cape Girardeau.

But I can change at least one person -- me. The next time I see somebody -- fat, skinny or average -- I'm not forming an opinion of them based on their weight.

And when I have a daughter, she'll be loved for the content of her character, not for what the scale says.

~Heidi Nieland is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.