Stephanie Pratt Describes Bulimia Struggle

It turns out that Stephanie Pratt of The Hills has uncovered her history of binging and purging. The early stories suggested that she blamed the pressures of co-stars' thin bodies as the chief reason. But she's since acknowledged that this was more a result of an eating disorder already present than a cause of it.

How do you react? Do you think, "Really? What does she look like? How bad was it?" Or might you think, "Oh, no no no. Please, let her get beyond this and feel freedom again." It can be tough with our sensationalized media to get our minds in good places.

The irony is that even when a celeb might be seeking publicity rather than truly struggling with an ED (no evidence of that here that I've seen), it's still an indictment of our cultural focus on image. Remember that people with eating disorders aren't simply trying to get attention. There are much stronger forces at work.

• Genetic influence on eating disorders
• Other celebrities with eating disorders
• The complexities of bulimia nervosa