Earlier this March, a surprising essay written by Jennette McCurdy surfaced on the Huffington Post. Jennette McCurdy, widely known for her role as “Sam” in “iCarly”, wrote an impactful essay regarding her struggle with multiple eating disorders growing up.

“My disordered eating started when I was 11. As a child actress working in Hollywood, I quickly learned that remaining physically small for my age meant I had a better chance of booking more roles. Unfortunately, I had a trusty and dedicated companion ready to help me with my burgeoning anorexia: my mom!” said Jennette McCurdy in her Huffington Post essay.

Unfortunately, Anorexia Nervosa is 12 times higher than any other cause of death in females from 15-24 according to Mirasol. Jennette McCurdy’s essay tackled her entire struggle from her battle with anorexia to binge eating disorder to her struggle with bulimia.

“Another thing I soon learned about eating disorders in Hollywood was that they can be highly competitive. Highly. Competitive. I encountered countless famous actresses, singers and entertainment personalities with eating disorders and found out there was a kind of “disordered eating hierarchy” in young Hollywood, with anorexia reigning over bulimia,” said Jennette McCurdy.

With the growing concern of teenage girls and body image, McCurdy’s article tackled her struggle in hopes of making an impact on the severity of eating disorders.

There are many misconceptions regarding eating disorders and their impacts on people’s lives. Anorexia Nervosa is the considered the most lethal mental illness diagnosis carrying four times the risk of death than that of major depression. This is due to the starvation aspect completely changing the body of a person suffering from this disease.

As 2019 began, and the continued movement for self-love and body acceptance has grown it also seems that diet culture has begun to increase. With the creation of the keto-diet, extremely low carb, and the popular Whole30 diet, a hard-core paleo diet which excludes any grains, dairy, alcohol, sugar or any kind including natural, and soy,  teenagers jumping on the fad band-wagon has increased greatly.

In Jennette McCurdy’s essay, she addresses her struggle and warns others about the impact of eating disorders not only on herself but also others.

If you or a loved one are concerned about someone who may be suffering from an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorder Association with their 24 hour helpline. Feel free to visit: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ to learn more.