need help with a diagnosis

my sister, who is a successful mother of two, has a serious obsession with her weight. my family has turned a blind eye to this for sometime, watching her lose a significant amount of weight over the last two years. i would say that she is around 95-100lbs and is 5'7''. she is a health freak, extremely obsessed with her calorie intake, and a exercise fanatic. she is young, and clearly heading down a horrible path, but i have no idea how to intervene. i cant go to her directly and tell her that she needs help, how will i be assured she will get help? (i live 2 hours from her) her husband is unsupportive and generally useless, and in my eyes she is dying in front of friends and family, b/c they are too scared to upset her by demanding of her to get help. what should i do? who can i call? i really need help with this one, have no idea where to start? thanks forum! hopeless in nyc.

That's the problem with these eating disorders and, in particular, Anorexia. The sufferer can easily lose weight for a few weeks without any apparent ill-effect. This is because the body simply uses-up its store of fat and glycogen (in the liver). However, when these are gone, the person's own muscles and bones are used for energy and that's when the problems begin.

You're good to notice this in your sister and to post here because something needs to be done. I have not been touched with Anorexia myself, but I am currently Bulimic.



I guess that she first needs to realise that she has a problem. You could ask her open and general questions such as "How is your diet these days?", and then begin talking about your own diet before she can answer. After you finish, I'm sure that she would then talk about her diet to you, and you can say "hey! That's not enough food to be eating".

You could also begin talking about how skinny all models appear to be, and then gauge her reaction. If she appears to want to talk about that, then do. You can eventually lead the conversation back to her own weight.


Anyway, whatever you do, don't raise your voice or lose your temper. She will no doubt be defensive about this, so you have to be constructive.


I wish you and her the best,
Kevin.