“Please tell me you’ve eaten properly today.”
For most people this is a light-hearted comment, a way of finding out if you’ve actually taken the time to stop what you were doing and eat, but for some this simple request brings out fear. It’s a split-second choice between lying or admitting you’ve been skipping meals, between a smiling nod and sharing that you’ve been stashing snacks to binge on in private, away from watching eyes.
Food, along with the fears, situations, and worries it brings, is one of the biggest things people struggling with eating disorders dread - and that feeling is about to get so much worse in restaurants. As of Wednesday, April 6, large businesses are required to display the calorie counts of all items on menus alongside the daily recommended calorie intakes.
