Treatment Solutions Network Articles: Extreme Dieting in Hollywood

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Posted: 13 Jul 2011 02:40 PM PDT

Many celebrities suffer with unhealthy behaviors, and many are treated every year for things like drug and alcohol addiction. The stress of being in the spotlight, combined with money and an atmosphere of night life and partying have led to many celebrities getting too deep in these kinds of activities.

Not only are celebrities, especially young ones, prone to drug and alcohol abuse, but many are obsessed with their image, and will do whatever they can to look good, even going to drastic measures to say thin. "It is such an image-conscious industry. I find more and more women and men are utilizing whatever they can do to try and stay thin. People are looking for a quick and easy way to cheat," said Dr. Reef Karim, assistant clinical professor at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience. "Their livelihood, their ability to be cast in a role, their entire way of making money is completely dependent on staying thin." (1)

Addictive Dieting Techniques

Dieting in Hollywood is as old of an activity as drug and alcohol abuse are. The stars have their own personal trainers, and their own specially designed diets. The rest of the country often flocks to try the latest celebrity diet. But those who look closely will see a lot of unhealthy extremes that celebrities will go to in order to stay thin, things that we don’t want our young people to imitate.

Self-Medicating

For years now, celebrities (and other people) have been using drugs to help increase their metabolism and decrease their hunger. Clenbuteral (“Clem”) was popular a few years ago because it burned fat while building muscle mass, and it was found easily on the Internet. Today some celebrities turn to cocaine or crystal meth to shed pounds. These drugs, while suppressing the appetite, destroy the body, a trade off some people are willing to take. "[Meth is] a strong appetite suppressant, but it will also fry your brain. It's neuro-toxic and it's going to kill some of your nerve terminals,” Dr. Karim said. “You're going to get ‘meth mouth’ and all sorts of other craziness is going to happen to you all for the sake of shedding a few pounds.” (1)

Other celebrities now use prescription drugs, such as psycho stimulants, hormone therapy drugs, diuretics, ADHD meds, and depression medications to speed up the metabolism, flush their body, or decrease appetite. Most of the drugs are addicting, and people who use them for dieting purposes find themselves addicted to the drugs and to the process of dieting.

Celebrities don’t often have a problem getting their drugs. A little star power can go a long way toward getting what they want, and money is not usually an issue. Our young people may have a harder time getting their hands on some of these drugs, but most of them are relatively common and accessible. Parents need to take care that their child is not imitating their favorite celebrity by taking part in these drastic dieting techniques.