Not Hungry
Miriam Schulman
Jaya has always been thin, but recently she has started to look emaciated. Jaya used to meet her roommate, Naomi, and some of their mutual friends for dinner, but lately, she tells Naomi she is "just going to grab something on the way to the library."
Also, Jaya works out like a fiend, running twice a day and doing endless crunches. Naomi has heard that this pattern is common in people with the eating disorder anorexia. She has tried to broach the subject with Jaya, but Jaya angrily denied that she had a problem. Last week, though, Jaya passed out after doing her evening sit-ups. She’s also cold all the time, no matter the temperature in the room. Naomi is truly worried.
What should Naomi do? Should she talk to someone at the University Health Service? Should she call Jaya's parents?
Here are some resources that may be helpful:
- Symptoms of Eating Disorders: Mayo Clinic
- Something Fishy Website on Eating Disorders
- A Framework for Thinking Ethically
Photo by Futurilla available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial License.