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| Title/Topic: Miss America 2008 Talks About Her Struggle With an Eating Disorder |
| Posted On: 6/24/2009 |
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June 24 2009 (WDBJ7 Roanoke News) – One of this year’s special guests at the Miss Virginia pageant is Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund.
To meet her you’d never know she battled with anorexia for years. Kirsten Haglund’s platform as Miss America focused on eating disorders. But even though she’s given up her crown, she has not given up her passion to help others.
She now has foundation dedicated to the cause called, Love Your Body Rock the World.
Haglund was just 12 years old when her own battle with anorexia started.
She says “I thought if I was thin I would be a good ballerina. I would be successful. After three years I lost too much weight, I was in a very serious condition physically. I had no friends. I was depressed.”
She was in denial before her parents stepped in and forced her to get professional help.
“That is scary because people can die from this illness. I don’t know where i would be,” said Haglund.
She never imagined she would become Miss America 2008. That inspired her to start her own foundation to help others with eating disorders.
“It’s not just anorexia, it’s bulimia, there is also binge eating. Obesity in itself can be an eating disorder if someone has a food addiction. So an eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes. You don’t have be extremely, extremely thin to be struggling.”
Through her foundation, Love Your Body Rock the World, Hagland plans to offer both hope, and soon financial scholarships for people to get the treatment they need.
“It’s such a complicated and very difficult illness. The most important thing is to get out of the mirror, out of defining yourself by image, by, size, but standards of perfection.”
To view Haglund’s website http://www.kirstenhaglund.org |
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