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Author talks about her ‘Fat’ journey

Professor Jean Braithwaite visited VSU’s campus on Tuesday to speak with students to about an epidemic that not only plagues Americans nationwide, but also the professor personally: obesity and eating disorders.

While some students viewed the lecture as a positive journey through Braithwaite’s road to a healthy lifestyle, others questioned Braithwaite’s thinking patterns and drastic measures to get to the size she is today.

“FAT: The Story of My Life with My Body” is the literary memoir of Professor Braithwaite’s personal struggle over the years with weight and eating disorders.

Braithwaite’s issues with food came after her cross country coach informed her that she should lose weight although, at the time, she stood at 5’6 and 120 pounds. She began to struggle with her weight as it gradually increased and continued along with the extreme measures she developed in her youth.

“Losing weight is an attempt to an earlier version of yourself,” said Braithwaite, now down to 130 pounds, almost half her size at her heaviest weight.

While Braithwaite never specified exactly how she lost the weight, she went deep into her journey, reading excerpts from her book explaining the physical and mental stages she went through in obtain a thin figure: obesity, temporary weight loss, eating disorders and mental depression.

When the author was at her worst, she told the audience that she would use ritual methods to lose weight. Some audience members were very surprised to hear the author’s extreme methods, which included binging on her favorite foods until she found them repulsive, drinking mustard water until she threw up, and barely eating for almost a year.

Some students do not completely agree with the questionable weight loss strategies that Professor Braithwaite promotes.

“The pressures in society to be thin push some to extremes and the author allowed herself to fall victim,” Megan Landi, a sophomore psychology major said.

“A college campus is a location with many types of people with very diverse versions of self-image and I do not believe this seminar is fitting for the audience because it almost makes unhealthy eating habits fall under a positive light.”

Eating disorders are common on college campuses according to a national study done by the National Association of Eating Disorders. For college students, 86 percent reported an onset of an eating disorder by age 20 and 43 percent report onset between ages of 16 and 20.

The seminar was sponsored by VSU’s Health Services.

“In the Office of Health Promotions, we educate students through a variety of methods on eating disorders as well as many other topics that our college students face,” said Health Promotions Assistant Director Holly Wright. “We were given a great opportunity to have Ms. Braithwaite on campus. She will educate the VSU community about eating disorders and her life’s journey with the disease.”

Editor’s Note: Dr. Jean Braithwaite, the author of “FAT: The Story of My Life with My Body,” discussed certain stories about her past, which led to her problems with her weight. Dr. Braithwaite was not promoting or endorsing extreme alternative ways to lose weight, but more so telling the audience about her past. It is Spectator policy to correct factual errors the staff is made aware of.

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