'Starving Secrets,' Reality Show About Eating Disorders, Comes To Lifetime

It is only right that after shining the spotlight on all sorts of bizarre addictions and disorders, cable TV turns its attention to one of the more prevailing disorders in our country: anorexia.

Today the Daily Beast highlighted a new TV program called "Starving Secrets," a Lifetime reality show featuring real individuals suffering from anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders.

The show's host, former "Growing Pains" actress and recovering anorexic Tracey Gold, will work with a team of specialists each week to help the show's cast members deal with their disorders and seek treatment.

Gold is well equipped to help from her years of experience, she said:

"20 years ago when I became ill with anorexia, there was very little information available to me. The people and stories in my show will portray the horror and loneliness we experience in battling this terrible disease. Whether you know a wife, husband, son, daughter or friend in trouble, you will learn some very hard lessons and also see that for some, like me, there is light at the end of the tunnel."

It is comforting to see eating disorders brought to the forefront; despite the loud public discussion on the country's sky-rocketing obesity rate, there are still those who are too skinny. Along these lines, Marie Claire highlighted the issue in an in-depth feature this summer called "Starvation Nation."

A magazine piece is one thing, however -- a TV show is another. Not the first attempt at televising eating disorders (in 2010 E! aired the show "What's Eating You?"), "Starving Secrets" will hopefully strike the right chord and remain informative and enlightening without being voyeuristic.

We also hope the vulnerable girls can handle the constant TV cameras. One cast member, Rivka, told the Daily Beast that it was hard to put her disease on display: "I don't want to be associated with an eating disorder. It's not something that I feel very proud about."

How will this foray into televised eating disorders work out? Watch the first of six "Starving Secrets" episodes on Lifetime on December 20.

Comments

[lisa eliz]

04:35 PM on 11/09/2011

The internet has proven to be an outlet for people to be cruel....and opinionated. What is so great about America, is the freedom to speak what you think. That same freedom also allows you to turn the channel. The amazing people connected to this program gave me my life back. Did I want to put in on TV? No. However, if my experience helps ONE person tell somebody they love their secret..that is so scary they might die......it will have been worth it. This opportunity taught me that I have the strength to change my life....and I always have. What I lacked was courage. Maybe some one suffereing from an eating disorder will find thiers.

[Theresa Ruth Howard]

11:46 AM on 11/09/2011

I know that we have to address this issue as it a growing illness however my fear is that no matter how well intentioned it might be these things unfortunately end up being "how to" guides for those on the brink. As a young dancer I can remember watching such programs and thinking "hum that's something I could try" The most insidious thing about these types of disorders is that you always think that YOU are in control of IT, that you can handle it that it won't get out of control so it can be a slippery slope. All I hope is that the way that it is presented will be carefully thought out and handled in a way that doesn't make it "sexy" to those who already have body image issues. Unfortunately it is usually those people who are drawn to shows like this I guess we will have to watch to see. It might just end up being a positive deterrent, fingers Crossed! http://mybodymyinage.com

[damanda]

09:53 AM on 11/09/2011

as if it isn't enough that The Mental Disorder Network (commonly known as TLC) lays bear the ills of people who are suffering from severe mental illness on a weekly basis.. now Lifetime (presumably in a desperate attempt to score any viewers as their programs mostly consist of reruns of old shows from other networks ) is exploiting girls suffering from eating disorders in its weekly reality show "Starving Secrets." This is really disturbing... raising awareness on such problems can take place in schools, at home, reading & the occasional low-budget documentary... Unless its a silly baseball-bat-to-balls blooper video, suffering of humanity should not be considered entertainment.. and thats exactly what this is trying to be. If Lifetime is willing to so shamelessly exploit these girls struggles, they should donate a significant amount of their profits (if they every have any) toward treatment programs and foundations in support of anorexia and bulimia. Due to our healthcare system and the way insurance companies work, many patients are often denied admittance to in-patient and/or forced to leave because they are "getting better" (gaining weight) and this people are forced to return home to struggle with their new body and unresolved problems alone... maybe Lifetime needs to exploit that.

[jgorl804]

09:16 AM on 11/09/2011

did u c this!?http://www.cannabismd.net/anorexia/

[Gargoyliscious]

01:46 AM on 11/09/2011

Bad idea.

All it will be is top viewing for "pro-ana" and "thinspiration". It won't matter how much blah, blah, blah they wedge into it to be informative, it'll just end up being freak-show viewing that is particularly dangerous for young predominantly female tweens and teens who seek this stuff out for information on how to starve.

And by that I do not mean that those struggling through recovery are freaks (far from it) but rather these kinds of programs have that voyeuristic streak no matter what.

[LivelyLexie]

08:14 AM on 11/09/2011

I was going to say the exact same thing.

[damanda]

10:06 AM on 11/09/2011

Agreed completely. For someone suffering from an eating disorder watching this program, it will feed their sickness. For someone without an eating disorder, watching this for entertainment is sick on a whole other level I cannot comprehend. This tragic suffering is someones REALITY and should never be entertainment.

[WilmaJune]

01:42 AM on 11/09/2011

This show should not be televised. Watching a friend starve herself to death is gut-wrenching. No words can adequately comfort young children at the funeral. Anorexia is a selfish problem.

[ShiraRosenbluth]

11:32 PM on 12/02/2011

Anorexia and other eating disorders are not a selfish problem. They are real diseases. Do you think someone would wake up and say, today I want to starve and throw up all my food to the point where I lose friends, family, health, etc etc etc?
You would never tell someone with cancer that they had a selfish problem. Maybe you need to take a look at your view on things.

[lefty81]

10:46 PM on 11/08/2011

Good. I'm glad this show is going to be on. Tracy Gold is the perfect person to host, and counsel it.

It's such a sad, sad topic to convey on TV, but it's better programming than that disgusting Jersey Shore foolishness. This show would be excellent for educational purposes, showing how real people have to deal with REAL problems.

[acmes]

09:18 PM on 11/08/2011

I would never trust Lifetime (of all networks) to do this kind of subject responsibly.

[Robert Brooks]

08:29 PM on 11/08/2011

I got it, why don't we have a reality show that seeks help for people hooked on...reality shows.

[shylove2]

08:26 PM on 11/08/2011

The problem is dying to look pretty...

[laurenp2689]

05:47 PM on 11/11/2011

If you think wanting to "look pretty" is the reason why people develop eating disorders, you are sadly mistaken. Unfortunately, you're not in the minority. It's about feeling so out of control with your life that eating and weight feel like the only thing that you have left that is yours to control. A lot of people with eating disorders have no idea what they actually look like.

If you're tempted to judge someone for having an eating disorder, think about how you feel when you didn't get a chance to grab lunch and have hunger pangs and are miserable until it can finally be resolved. For someone who is trapped in the middle of an eating disorder, that feeling is an improvement over what ever was going on before.

[kolson780]

08:08 PM on 11/08/2011

This makes me sad. Two summers ago, I developed a summer camp for teen girls. One of my guest speakers was from an organization that deals with eating disorders. We had them come in to chat with the camp about the issue. However, when the ladies arrived, they informed us that they were no longer "allowed" to talk about eating disorders for fear that it would encourage the girls to try starvation, etc. The organization was also threatened with funding cuts if they continued to discuss these issues! Obviously this is ludicrous, girls will not become anorexic/bulimic if given a presentation on eating disorders...but watching it on TV, reading celebrity gossip mags, etc....it's a scary thought, a scary way to glamourize a sad disease that should be dealt with medically and with a somber heart.

[mscaitlins]

08:00 PM on 11/08/2011

Stupid statement but this is similar to the show the "intervention". Although that show portrayed the horrors of drug use, you wonder how many souls tried drugs because they wanted that effect. With this show, I'm sure the guests will talk about how being skinny made them feel "beautiful" or "better". How many young girls will want that then take to an eating disorder? One person is one person too many when it comes to drugs and eating disorders.

[juls1314]

07:39 PM on 11/08/2011

This is a show that would be extremely interesting for those who do not have an ED or who do not have ED thoughts. I would watch this show - I am actually reading Wasted by Marya Hornbacher right not, for the 2nd time.

For those who do have EDs or think and ED is glamorous (or they way to perfection) - this show will be highly triggering.

I am fascinated by those with eating disorders from a psychological perspective. The body's natural defenses come full force when it's in trouble. For example, when you starve yourself, the only thing you can think of is food and the cravings.
And these young kids have this internal fight with their body's defenses - and usually "win", landing them in hospitals.
I wish this show was more of an ongoing documentary (like E!'s What's Eating You) rather than a reality show.

[NikitaAhn]

05:43 PM on 11/08/2011

I can see this backfiring, much in the same way that "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant" were supposed to be cautionary tales but ended up making many teen girls WANT to get pregnant. Even if you're not trying to glorify it, shining a spotlight on it and making the subjects "celebrities" has that effect on some level. And if you're already sick with an eating disorder, or borderline disordered eating, it's easy to get obsessed with the subject and fixate on it - this could feed right into that. For YEARS after I recovered from my ED I couldn't watch movies/shows/etc about the subject because no matter how terrible they were they triggered me and made me want to restrict again.

[NoLuminosity]

06:13 PM on 11/08/2011

Good point. The probable success rate of this show is slim.

[Shiane Kampf]

06:16 PM on 11/08/2011

After suffering for years myself, I have to totally agree. I am certainly not watching it.

[Daniela Christina]

07:02 PM on 11/08/2011

If you wanted to restrict, you weren't recovered.

[NikitaAhn]

07:19 PM on 11/08/2011

Eating disorders are like addictions - for most people you recover and control the behavior/urges, but can still be triggered or struggle with the disease for years or the rest of your life. Just because an alcoholic is not drinking doesn't mean he's not an alcoholic, and just because someone with anorexia nervosa is not restricting does not mean they suddenly no longer have an eating disorder. The thought patterns and emotional disturbances that lead someone to restrict in the first place do not simply disappear. What I meant when I said I was in recovery was that I was not engaging in disordered eating - that doesn't mean that I was suddenly free from the disordered thinking or the vulnerability to be triggered. Someone who is an alcoholic might always be triggered when he/she sees a bottle of vodka or smells a drink, and someone with an ED might always be triggered and have a momentary urge to diet/restrict/binge/etc when confronted with material that highlights dieting or EDs. Being triggered by the subject of EDs but being able to resist the urge to follow through on those urges is recovery, if not complete recovery (which, as I mentioned, is often very difficult or impossible for someone to attain and maintain).

[Greenblue]

05:19 PM on 11/08/2011

so girls are going to starve themselves to get on the show, kinda like 16 and Pregnant..just when I thought Lifetime couldn't go any lower..