What does Lara Bingle's diet teach our girls?

by MONTY DIAMOND

“Wow. Wow. Wow.”

That is the only word my brain could muster up while watching the first ten minutes of Being Lara Bingle. I have never succumbed to the ‘Bingle Bashing’ and I still intend not to. However last night’s episode was some of the most irresponsible telly I have seen in yonks.

If you missed it allow me to recap for you.

After pictures of Lara in her bikini with cellulite on her arse taken six month ago re-emerged (welcome to 25 Lara), a conversation between Lara and her mate Hermione took place about shedding some kilos. FIVE kilo’s to be exact. Seriously? Two beautiful healthy looking girls on national TV declaring they were going on a diet to lose FIVE kilos! Is it just me or is this NUTS??

I was waiting for the punch line but quickly realised there was none.

The sad reality set in that I just was watching Lara Bingle talk about “apple cider vinaigrette and dandelion tea.”

All they had to do was drink “juice and vegetable broth” and it magically halved their boob size.

Lara has chosen to be in the public eye and responsibilities come along with that choice. It’s beyond disappointing that she and the producers of her show allowed such ludicrous conversations about weight and dieting go to air.

Dieting is the greatest risk factor for developing an eating disorder. 68% of 15 year old Australian females are on a diet. This is a seriously scary percentage and its not getting lower. 1 in 20 women have admitted to having an eating disorder and one in four of us know someone who is suffering from one.

The scariest thing is that children as young as SEVEN are suffering from eating disorders. You are meant to be dancing in front of the mirror and picking your nose freely when you are seven – not worrying about the calories in a piece of chocolate cake.

The fact that dieting was one of the main topics on Being Lara Bingle last night is a serious issue. It’s not new to us that dieting and eating disorders are a big problem but this outlined that we still have a loooong way to go in this area.

This is an ongoing and exhausting problem. There are ways to slowly change this though.

Enough of the ridiculous and unrealistic air brushed images all around us, the dieting ‘tips’ in magazines, tiny celebrities complaining about their ‘fat’ bodies and the weight loss products on every shelf in the supermarket.

Seriously, enough is enough!

Katie “Monty” Dimond is a broadcaster and media personality. She has appeared on Channel Ten, Channel Nine, and Nova FM. She is currently busy being a full time Mum and loving it!

Do you think that healthy reality stars talking about diets or weight loss has a negative impact on viewers? What message does this send to little girls? How old were you when body issues first came onto your radar?