Anorexia in the Wizarding World

[Equinox Chick]

He's a boy. He's in his NEWT year, and he has Harry's genes.

I suspect he won't notice until he's left ....

Sorry, to be snarky, but unless someone else points it out to him, I don't think he will. Rose might, but then she'll be obsessed with her NEWTs as well.

Carole

[AidaLuthien]

Hm, well after that much time at Hogwarts, it really depends on how close the siblings still are. Yes, they're in the same House, but if they have a lot of classmates, a lot of divergent interests, plus Albus is worrying about NEWTS, I don't think he would notice particularly quickly.

Maybe after one of her friends makes a comment, or something drastic happens, like if she got hit by a Bludger during a Quidditch game and really badly broke her arm (anorexia eventually weakens bones).

[Eleanor Lupin]

I am 13, so my mom is panicked that I'll be "influenced" by other kids. Whenever I so much as skip breakfast, she immediately freaks out and starts trying to stuff me with food. Parents always seem to be worried about this, haha :P

Same :P My mum does the same.

My mum is exactly like that as well - skipping breakfast does not fly in our household. This makes me think, actually, that if Ginny/Hermione are anything like my mum (and I think they would be) then by the time this character's anorexia truly becomes life-threatening, it will probably have been noticed and dealt with. I'm almost thinking that bulimia would be more plausible with a Weasley grandchild, simply because I think it would be a bit more difficult to notice them secretively throwing up what they eat than leaving their food on their plate or constantly being "not hungry". In fact, with bulimia's characteristic binge eating, Mrs. Weasley might almost be pleased with how much Lily seems to enjoy her food. Although I've never known anyone with bulimia, so maybe I'm wrong here.

As for how understanding Hermione would be, a good friend of mine who reminds me almost frighteningly of Hermione has never really understood other girls' obsessions with being skinny - she doesn't care what people think of her, and that's no exception. I get the feeling Hermione would be the same - maybe not quite grasping the control aspect of eating disorders. I do, however, love Carole's idea of Fleur being more understanding than anybody else - there's a point somewhere in GoF where she mentions being worried about not fitting into her dress robes, so she should relate to some extent.

I agree with Carole and Aida that NEWT year could give the 7th years a bit of tunnel vision, and Albus specifically ... Harry's general obliviousness aside, he's a boy, and boys (generally) don't notice things like that unless you ram it down their throats. He's probably not spending much time looking at his sister to see if she looks different anyway.

[GinnyPotter]

I am 13, so my mom is panicked that I'll be "influenced" by other kids. Whenever I so much as skip breakfast, she immediately freaks out and starts trying to stuff me with food. Parents always seem to be worried about this, haha :P
Same :P My mum does the same.





My mum is exactly like that as well - skipping breakfast does not fly in our household.

I think mums just don't want anorexic daughters, because its bad for health.
Ginny, while its never been pointed out if she cares about her body image, she doesn't seem like the type of girl who would care. Hermione, definitely doesn't care. But, like Nora said, they would probably be the type of mums that did the above, not because of body image, but because of health.

Angelina, I think she might be the type to care about body image. Or would she be too busy playing Quidditch to care.

Molly, we know she doesn't care about body image, but she'd definitely do the above.

Carole, I fixed the post. Sorry for spamming
~Nidhi

[Equinox Chick]

As for how understanding Hermione would be, a good friend of mine who reminds me almost frighteningly of Hermione has never really understood other girls' obsessions with being skinny - she doesn't care what people think of her, and that's no exception.

I think that's a very good point, and Hermione, with her peers, would probably be dismissive. I do think with her daughter or niece she would be more understanding, though, because she understands pressure. I also think she's very likely to research it and realise that this isn't just a weight issue. It is a state of mind and not just because you want to fit into a certain size jeans or robes. Hermione is pretty good at understanding what's going on in people's heads (think of the advice she gave Harry regarding Cho, for instance).

I think mums just don't want anorexic daughters, because its bad for health.

Nidhi, my love, much as I can see you're trying to help, this type of comment isn't contributing to the topic and is quite spammy. We're a friendly bunch, but this isn't a chat forum. Also as a mum of a nearly fifteen-year-old girl, I'm not heavy handed with the missing breakfast thing because I think making an 'issue' out of one skipped meal only emphasises any potential problems.

Lost_Robin - as you can see this is an emotive issue. I'm wondering about Lily Luna as your sufferer, actually. It is probably my tunnel vision as I've written her, but I don't see her as being pressured, particularly, by OWLs. Harry and Ginny weren't fantastically clever and I doubt she'd feel pressured by them to do well. I realise she's living in the shadow of her parents' fame, but imho, she comes across as sheltered from that in the epilogue. Albus seems to be the one under more pressure because of his looks. Maybe someone like Molly or Lucy Weasley (I do think Percy and Audrey are the type to pile on pressure) would be more likely to suffer - especially as they're in all probability closer in age to Victoire and Dominique so will be seen in comparison ...

(Sorry, shouldn't interfere with your story, it just struck me that you may need another motive other than OWL pressure)

~Carole~

[Lost_Robin]

I'm going to find another reason and I agree with Nora about how it would be more realistic for a Weasley grandchild to be bulimic. Thank you all for the input. I understand that it is a sensitive issue and I am trying to make sure that I am not insulting anyone or portraying it incorrectly.

In my headcanon, she's smart and she wants to prove herself. I'm also thinking about adding her boyfriend into the story. She might notice him looking at other girls who, in her opinion, are prettier than her.

[AidaLuthien]

Thought: if you're gonna add a boyfriend character, you might as well twist the knife a bit more.

Not only does he start noticing other girls, they have a huge row, he takes a crack about her weight (why shouldn't I look at other girls, your thighs are ENORMOUS), then dumps her and proceeds to go out with another prettier/thinner girl soon after.

That would probably make a girl really sensitive about her physical image.

Also, I think it's a form of anorexia, where the sufferer continues to eat, just small portions and then exercises it all off. If Lily is athletic, this could happen. It would also be harder to detect, since the sufferer does eat, just not enough to offset the exercise.

[Lost_Robin]

That is a genius idea. Thanks! Originally I was going to have the boyfriend cheat on her with a "prettier" Slytherin girl. She's Keeper, so that form of anorexia could work.

[Eleanor Lupin]

Ooh, knife-twisting. Always fun in stories. Hmm ... there could be some childhood teasing that never really went away in Lily's mind. My sister wasn't overweight when she was young, but she still got called 'fat' by some of the boys in her class as a rather default insult and it stayed with her. Lily could have a similar story from her childhood - maybe some of the cousins or their friends' could have said it and not realised the effect it was going to have on her, making her sensitive about her weight from her childhood.

Good luck with the story - I'll be reading for sure.

[Lost_Robin]

Oh yay, more ideas! Thanks. She's not chubby, really, but her cheeks are. Maybe one of her cousins made a comment one time about them when they were little. And thank you for the support.