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Article: NO MORE DANCING AROUND A PROBLEM EX-BALLERINA TURNED MD TREATS EATING DISORDERS
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- November 14, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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When she was a medical resident in a Minnesota eating disorders
unit several years ago, Dr. Olivia Beckman was startled by the
skepticism some of the hospital's doctors had toward people diagnosed
with anorexia nervosa or bulimia conditions characterized,
respectively, by patients who barely eat, or force themselves to
vomit to avoid gaining weight.
"They were just not sympathetic to what they were seeing," she
said.
Beckman, who lives in Hamilton, knew better. A former professional
dancer, she first encountered eating disorders as a young teenager
attending a ballet boarding school in Toronto. Some girls