Beinggirl.com promotes eating-disordered behavior, isn’t so safe or credible
A Procter & Gamble-sponsored website is promoting eating-disordered behaviors to young girls who “use food to provide the good feelings [they're] missing.”
Even though P & G assures us moms that Beinggirl.com is a “safe, credible and private” source for information, I certainly won’t trust anything on the site after reading What Does the War Have to Do with Your Weight?
. . . With half of Americans already fighting the battle of the bulge, and over a third of Americans classified as obese, it’s important not to let our emotions contribute to bad eating habits that will only promote even more bad feelings. Here is some advice from the experts about what to do when you’re tempted to use food to make you feel better. . . .
5. Post-It notes are great for reminding you of the right thing to do. Stick them on the bathroom mirror, on the inside of your locker, on your computer. Be creative with your reminder. “How hungry are your really?” “Exactly why are you eating that now?” “What will the scale say tomorrow morning?”
Emphasis mine, and that’s just number 5. In Call for action: Site for adolescent teens promotes eating disorders, Rachael at The F-Word reviews P & G’s suggestions and tells us how they contribute to disordered eating. She also says:
Look, it’s one thing to encourage people to examine the issues affecting their food choices, but these are young, impressionable girls who are at the ripe age when most eating disorders develop. If a girl truly has a problem with emotional eating, chances are, she isn’t emotionally prepared to handle it herself. The site suggests professional help only as an afterthought, and nowhere does it encourage girls to talk to their parents or a trusted adult.
The article doesn’t say who these “experts” are, but it sounds like advice gathered from some product managers sitting around in the P & G lunch room.
Read the post at The F-Word to find out how to contact Procter & Gamble.
You know, I keep hoping to find one of these corporate-sponsored “girl” sites that truly acts responsibly. I suspected that wouldn’t happen at a site like Beinggirl.com, which is
a place where girls can come together to learn, share, communicate with each other and have loads of fun
and
the place to be for the hottest free samples from Always and Tampax. . . .
Big Liberty takes a closer look at other sections of Beinggirl.com and finds even more! misinformation to confuse young girls on health and diet.
No matter what they say, the P & Gs and Unilevers of this world will always choose profit over our children’s best interests.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:02 am
If any of this Proctor & Gamble energy had anything to do with actually addressing and preventing childhood obesity, I’d give the company the benefit of the doubt. But I, too, thought these bullet points sounded like the messages that I was told helped impel the eating disorder of a young woman I know.
But wait: Isn’t this the same Proctor & Gamble that owns Pringles? I’m surprised, because “It’s easy to fall in love with the irresistible taste of Pringles®. With so many delicious varieties, you’ll want to try them all. No matter which one you decide to pop, one thing’s for sure — the fun won’t stop!”
I’ll say! In fact, I “braved one bite of Pringles Extreme,” which “aren’t for the faint of heart.” And I’ve “been hooked on the aggressive taste that just won’t quit.”
Just to be on the safe side (what with my faint of heart father having his first heart attack at age 38) I checked Proctor & Gamble’s own “Material Safety Data Sheet,” to check the fat and sodium content of all the bold flavors I’ve explored. Crazy: I guess “The Snacks and Beverages division of the Procter & Gamble Company does not maintain or distribute Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for these products” because “Snack and beverage products are exempt from the MSDS requirement.”
No problem. “All P&G snacks and beverage products are composed of non-hazardous, FDA approved ingredients.”
How irresistible is that?
March 17th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Yikes, that is some pretty terrible stuff.
March 24th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
[...] of Saturday morning, the article promoting eating-disordered behaviors at beinggirl.com had been removed. Thanks to everyone who blogged about this (especially Rachel, where I first read [...]
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
iEmily.com is a responsible girls health website
July 26th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Actually, less than 1% of women has anorexia nervosa in the United states. And there are a lot more overweight and obese women than 1%.
So, I think that teaching people ways to control their weight, for the sake of their own health, is in the best interest of much more women.
I have anorexia nervosa and I still found that site appropriate.
July 26th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Hi Miranda —
Actually, according to the NIMH, the percentages are a bit higher than you have stated (see http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america.shtml#Eating).
And there’s an important difference between being overweight/obese and being unhealthy.
I sent a copy of the article in question to a local hospital’s eating disorder clinic and they agreed that the suggestions in the article were problematic.
I’ll have to respectfully disagree that teaching young girls to diet in the manner the article described is in their best interest.