I’ve been helping Buzzfeed to prepare an in-depth exposure of gym practices . Gyms are full of men and women who strive to be thin (and fit?); to shave off fat and to build muscle. Some of these people are overdoing exercise, or are too thin to work out. Some men are abusing steroids to beef up. Some gyms encourage this kind of muscle competition and advise people to take all sorts of pills and supplements that may help. This is just one step away from taking steroids, which can kill and maim.
Do gyms have a moral responsibility to single out
people who may have an eating disorder, and tell them to stop coming?
Most gyms have a health questionnaire to fill in for members. But I would like to bet that trainers turn a blind eye to people who appear too thin to pound the treadmill or turn up for their daily 2 mile swim. On top of that, many people with life threatening eating disorders like bulimia, don’t look too thin at all.
If one gym expressed concern, I would also bet that an exercise addict with an eating disorder would just go somewhere else. Should gyms have a legal responsibility for clients who run on empty? I think they have a moral duty. Alongside their advertisements for classes, I would like them to have some health posters up, to guide people against exercise addiction and to help people who might have an eating disorder. They could train staff to talk to people in confidence and show them where to go for help.
People with eating disorders can be their own worst friends. I’ve heard people say; If no-one has taken me aside and worried about me, it means I am not thin enough, so tha’ts one good reason to keep starving. I’ve heard others deny that they have an exercise addiction; they are addicted to their own endorphins. Exercise addiction – are you or aren’t you… that’s another story for another day.
Gyms and for that matter, personal trainers, have a lot to answer for if they don’t know when and how to say “I’m worried about you- would you like to talk about this?”.I know someone who was driven into a serious eating disorder by a personal trainer who did not know what she was doing.
If this article is taken seriously by just one gym, it was worth writing. If you belong to a gym why not go and talk to someone who will be prepared to read it.
of me to say that there is a lot of truth and nonsense being written about this case.
Paul suffered for years with compulsive eating and self neglect so that he made poor eating choices consistently. He has lost over 400 lbs with an operation called the Gastric Sleeve where the stomach is adapted so that only very small amounts of food can be eaten. This operation is an immediate cure for Diabetes Type 2 BUT it is not suitable for everyone.