In 1992 Growing Pains star Tracey Gold bravely spoke out about her struggle with anorexia at a time when not many people were talking openly about eating disorders. She gave details about her eating disorder to a People cover article that resulted in Tracey becoming the face for eating disorders, a position that scared her at first, but she later embraced.
Two decades later eating disorders are still prolific and stigmatized, but in large part because of Tracey becoming a public face for eating disorders, women and men are more likely to get help and speak out about struggles with food and weight. Recently, singer Demi Lovato’s honesty allowed her to use recovery from eating disorders (and mental health issues) to help inspire many other young people, and revive a career that would have been in danger if she had remained silent or ashamed. In 1994 Tracy starred in For The Love of Nancy, the now cult-classic Lifetime movie about an anorexic girl.
Now, Tracey Gold is highlighting eating disorders again with a new Lifetime reality show Starving Secrets with Tracey Gold. On the show Tracey mentors young women struggling with eating disorders in a treatment program, and seeks to “to reach them in ways no one else can.’
Tracy has said that she’s helped young women who have left treatment programs before, including one woman who had basically been trained to give up treatment after 30 days because of insurance restrictions. The women profiled on the show are literally fighting for their lives.
Here’s a teaser trailer:
Despite both the prevalence of eating disorders AND reality shows, there have not been very many reality shows that deal with starving or purging eating disorders (there are plenty dealing with obesity.) Some experts worry that the raw nature of the show may be triggering for those with eating disorders, but others argue that spotlighting this issue on a reality show format will actually help save lives.
