LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Overcoming eating disorders

To the Editor: In her column "Lunch choice isn't everything" (DP, 10/10/96), Miranda Salomon offered a disturbing portrayal of what she perceives as the obsession of Penn women with body image and eating, or not eating or eating according to the judgment of peers. She tied this obsession into related issues of self-esteem and personal identity, which certainly are often part of the complicated picture of disordered eating and exercise patterns. The behavior Salomon described is unhealthy psychologically, socially and physically. It isn't much fun either! It is very difficult for anyone, and especially women, in this society to recognize and accept that healthy bodies come in many different packages and these packages embody some OK, even great, people. It also seems difficult for many college students to place a high value on their own personal health. Salomon did not address the somewhat less complicated idea that some students simply do not have a good understanding of the linkages between nourishment and good health. They do not have the rudimentary information, the basic tools, to eat in a healthy way should they so desire. At Dining Services, we can provide guidance on healthy eating behavior and selection of foods for good nutritional balance. "Healthy Sampler" menus are posted daily in the entry to each dining hall and on our home page, "http://www.upenn.edu/dining". Individual consultations can be scheduled by calling 898-2339; students in need of medical or psychological intervention will be referred to the appropriate services. Our goal is to help students enjoy eating for good health. Marion Birdsall, R.D. Penn Dining Services Nutritionist u To the Editor: I wish to respond to Miranda Salomon's column ("Lunch choice isn't everything," DP, 10/10/96) concerning food obsessions -- as a man. The problem with food obsession is not limited to women. Because I have always worked as a food service professional, I excused my obsession due to my profession and did not associate the problem with my gender. Even when I read a chart and statistics in University President Judith Rodin's book, Body Traps, I didn't personalize the problem until she described me precisely in a chapter entitled "Men's Shame." We indeed are as concerned with image as women. It always pleases me to see attention being paid to dining aspects in the pages of the DP. I hope Salomon's column encourages the Penn community to think about food in a more balanced manner and will encourage students to discuss food concerns with Birdsall. Donald Jacobs, FMP Executive Director Hospitality Services