Actress Lohan’s story sparks new interest in eating disorders

By John M Grohol PsyD
January 16, 2006

Usually I’m not crazy about these kinds of stories, since Lohan is just one person. But such stories also shine a fantastically bright spotlight on the disorder for a brief moment, and reminds the world that there are millions like her suffering from this everyday.

Teen actress Lindsay Lohan is on the cover of this week’s Vanity Fair with a bombshell interview in which she allegedly admits having bulimia, among other things.

The interview follows months of boney tabloid photos and rumors of rapid weight loss by the former redhead who starred in 2004’s “Mean Girls” and “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.” Lohan denies the “confession” to Vanity Fair, but the cover story has landed bulimia back in the headlines.

Bulimia affects up to 4 percent of women. Men can be bulimic, too, as up to 20 percent of people with the disease are men, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Bulimia remains deadly and difficult to detect, though new research shows there may be a genetic factor to eating disorders.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues, and the intersection of technology and psychology since 1992.