{"id":83548,"date":"2013-09-12T12:35:55","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T16:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=83548"},"modified":"2015-12-14T11:07:26","modified_gmt":"2015-12-14T16:07:26","slug":"a-candid-discussion-about-eating-disorders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2013\/09\/a-candid-discussion-about-eating-disorders\/","title":{"rendered":"A Candid Discussion About Eating Disorders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Diane Smith (left) and Dr. Carolyn Drazinic discuss eating disorders at the fall premier of the Discovery Series. (Chris DeFrancesco\/UConn Health Center Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a story that Emmy-award winning journalist Diane Smith never intended to tell, but one that inspired a crowd of more than 200 people during her Sept. 10 presentation in the Health Center\u2019s first \u201cDiscovery Series\u201d health lecture of the fall season.<\/p>\n

Smith candidly shared details of her lifelong struggles with food and how she had tried \u201cevery diet in the book\u201d until she reached a turning point in 2011 during a conversation with her close friend Mika Brzezinski, also a broadcast journalist, who is now a co-host of MSNBC\u2019s \u201cMorning Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Diane Smith signs copies of the book she co-authored about her and a friend\u2019s struggles with food. (Chris DeFrancesco\/UConn Health Center Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt started with three little words that and changed two lives,\u201d she said, describing how Brzezinski confronted Smith and said, \u201cYou are fat.\u201d At that time, Smith was 75 pounds overweight. As the conversation unfolded, however, Brzezinski confessed that she too was \u201cobsessed\u201d with food and needed to address her own unhealthy habits.<\/p>\n

In the end, both agreed to take better care of themselves, with Smith pledging to exercise and lose weight and Brzezinski agreeing to try to gain weight and more importantly, confront her own issues with food. Both have successfully reached their goals.<\/p>\n

But they took it one step further. They decided to share their stories and reach out to other women and men who face the same challenges. Earlier this year, their book Obsessed: America\u2019s Food Addiction\u2014and My Own<\/em>, was released.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did this because of concern for others \u2013 and to start an honest conversation about food issues,\u201d Smith said, noting that Americans are surrounded by cheap and readily available unhealthy food choices, and for many, it can become addictive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to help Americans get healthy and push this subject out of the closet and onto the table,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The next\u00a0Discovery Series<\/a>\u00a0program will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 8, featuring experts from the UConn Center on Aging. The topic will be \u201cMemory Matters,\u201d exploring topics such as the prevention, detection and treatment of memory disorders; help for caregivers; and managing the behavioral and psychiatric problems associated with memory disorders. To register, call 800-535-6232 or\u00a0online<\/a>.<\/div>\n

Dr. Carolyn Drazinic<\/a>, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, who also participated in the Discovery Series, shared Smith\u2019s concerns about food addiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is a lot of validity to the notion of food addiction. We know from research that the dopamine drive connected with food is similar to those of recreational drugs,\u201d Drazinic said. She also noted that many of the characteristics of addiction can be applied to people with weight problems, including cravings and continued use despite adverse consequences.<\/p>\n

Drazinic, who sees many patients who with food problems, encourages people struggling with their weight to talk to their physician and like Smith, to follow a steady and sensible plan to learn better eating and exercise habits.<\/p>\n

Several resources at the Health Center can help people who struggle with their weight:<\/b><\/p>\n