Seeing as though we can’t get enough of television that scrutinises the way we look, Channel 4 have undergone their latest venture of tackling the country’s obesity crisis and the growing number of Eating Disorders at its roots – childhood.
The programme shares an identical format to its predecessor Supersize vs Superskinny (which I couldn’t get enough of, maybe it’s a smug thing?) of bringing in 2 individuals at opposite ends of the weight scale but with equally dangerous eating habits to a ‘feeding clinic’ to learn about healthy eating habits. Only this time, as they’re children, they bring a parent along too.
The frankness of the programme is unsettling at times but like so many documentaries dealing with major health and social issues, completely necessary. When 15 year old overweight Ieuan shows little regard for losing weight and the desire to have gastric band surgery, the effects of celebrity diets and overly-reported extreme weight loss becomes a reality. Healthy body image has become skewed over the years and its affecting children more than we think.
The number of people diagnosed with Eating Disorders has doubled in the past decade, according to this show. That is a shocking statistic, and one that isn’t to be taken lightly. It seems a perfect juxtaposition that whilst so many children across the UK are damaging their health by gaining weight and destroying their childhood, another monster is stealing childhoods in a more secret, destructive and resilient way. Eating Disorders are far more difficult to overcome than over-eating, in younger people anyway. You don’t hear from many people how they were fat as a child and its haunted them ever since, but an Eating Disorder effects its victims, quite often, for life.
Although I admire the show’s intent in getting the message out there about looking out for signs of Eating Disorders in their children, however the section in which a young girl talked about her experience of Anorexia was all too idealistic. Skeletal pictures of her during her illness were shown (despite what Eating Disorder charities say about the negative impact of such images) and she spoke openly about how Pro-Anorexia websites fed her obsession with losing weight. But in her case, she was lucky and unusual as it took a trip to the doctors and some positive thinking for her to make a full recovery.
Of course that is fantastic, but not the usual case with Anorexia sufferers, who can carry the burden of their illness for a lifetime, I should know as I know people who well into their twenties still have issues with food that started in their early teens. So whilst the show is trying to promote understanding and recognition of Eating Disorders, this episode especially, did not seem to justify the true effects of Anorexia.
Another interesting element the show threw up was the weigh in at the end, 3 months after the initial filming. Both of them had only gained or lost 3 pounds, respectively. With the adult version, it is usually the start of a transformation, as adults seem to have more determination to change their weight. This is worrying because as the programme tries to hound to us; eating problems that start in childhood take years to undo, and the two individuals involved in the show are testimony to this.
So whilst I expected a clichéd and over-the-top scare mongering horror-fest, Supersize vs Superskinny Kids is actually a programme every parent with any concerns for their child’s dietary health should watch, even to just assure yourself that your kids aren’t so bad after all.
If you want to learn more about Eating Disorders, take a look at this fantastic website for more information.
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