To think that staff should stop this girl using the gym?

[MrBloomsMarrow]

I really don't know if I'm BU or not which is why I'm posting. I joined a gym a few months and go around 2 or 3 times a week. I usually stay for around an hour. There's a girl who's always there whenever I go - she's there when I get there and still there when I leave. She's really young - definitely no older than 20.
She's always on the same treadmill and has the setting to maximum resistance ie it's like going up a really steep hill.
The thing is, she's obviously severely anorexic. I'm a mental health nurse and worked in an eating disorder clinic for 2 years so I do know a bit about it.
A normal BMI is 20-25. 17.5 and below is anorexic, 15 and below is considered dangerously underweight and below 13 is critical - this is the point where sectioning someone would be considered. I'd say that she's definitely in the dangerous category, if not the critical. When I worked in the clinic, there were definitely patients who weren't as underweight as she is. She wears vest tops and you can literally see all her bones jutting out.
I absolutely don't mean that they should stop her going as some sort of "punishment", I have nothing but sympathy as she's desperately ill but I feel that, by allowing her to attend all the time and exercise in the way she does, it's kind of colluding with her thinking that she doesn't have a problem. I know she can go and exercise anywhere but I don't think she could do it in quite such an obsessional way outside of a gym. It's a bit like a landlord refusing to serve someone who's really drunk - of course they can go and get pissed somewhere else but it's still the right thing to do.
Also, I think it's actually dangerous to exercise that much when your body is so fragile and I' always worried that she's just going to collapse.
I've been thinking about having a quiet word to one of the staff or should I just keep my nose out?

Thing is, if the OP raised her concerns to the gym and the gym politely inquired about this women's health and it turns out that she was recovering from a serious illness and wasn't anorexic, what harm has been done?

I'm sure if this was the case she would know that she was very thin and looked unwell. The gym would just be fulfilling their duty of care.

'Anorexics are very frustrating' Try living with a mental illness that compels you to starve yourself, for some people to death. Now THAT is frustrating.

OP I think the most you should do is tell the manager you are concerned about her. For confidentiality reasons I hope he tells you nothing, but in the highly unlikely case she isn't already being kept an eye on it will bring it to their attention.

Nobody has a clue what type of intervention or support she is engaged with. You can't assume she isn't supported already. It's also not great you have 'diagnosed' her when I'm sure you're well aware only a doctor can do so. If my MH nurse tried to diagnose me with something I'd politely ask to discuss it with an actual doctor.

If the fact she

I don't know on there being a duty of care. It is more likely to be that the gym is used at the persons own risk? I don't know for sure on this though

Oops posted too soon. If the fact she is going to do the gym is known to her family, friends, doctors etc it may be part of a compromise on her treatment plan. Turning her away from the gym will only send her elsewhere to exercise. At least there is some supervision there should anything happen.

This exact thread has been done before aaages ago. Can't remember if people thought the OP was UR or not?

I think the gym shouldn't push the woman out or make her feel uncomfortable by discussing it because if they do she'll only work out on her own and if she collapses or needs medical help she is better placed to get it there.

Say something to the manager. In my gym a personal trainer took it on as his mission to help a young lady and she is well now. Their story made the news, this situation might not have such a good outcome but at least she will know that someone cares?

Just wanted to add more as I was too tired last night to write a lot. I was that anorexic and it was noticed by management as well as other customers. The gym were incredible and supported me with an exercise programme that we 'managed down' until it was not completely OTT. I managed to get to the point where, yes I was still exercising but not to such a great extreme. It didn't cure my deep seated psychological problems that caused the anorexia in the first place but they supported me to manage one of my unhealthy behaviours (over exercising). I ended up in hospital anyway and when I came out, I went back to say thank you but the 2 main staff who had supported me had left.

At the time, I was embarrassed that it had been noticed but still, really touched that complete strangers care. Like I said, no it didn't cure my eating disorder but I'm glad people cared about me. I felt very alone and worthless at the time.

A relative of mine was banned from the gym as she exercised so much and was v skinny. I agree, it is like the landlord refusing to serve an inebriated person.

Candy, it's great that the gym staff were able to make the right kind of connection with you :)
I hope you're doing okay now :)

There was a woman at the gym I went to who would sit on an exercise bike for hours wearing a huge arran jumper. She was so thin, she looked awful and exhausted.

I always thought about mentioning it to the staff, but I never did.

I felt so sad for her.

Talk about projection much! I know that some naturally slim people suffer irritating judgment and accusations about eating disorders. However, it doesn't follow from that, that all concerns about eating disorders are bollocks.

The OP has worked in a clinic with real, actual anorexics- she's presumably seen real anorexics there, and is well beyond slimmer-than-me-so-she-must-have-an-ED-itis.

It could be some other condition, but sadly, I think the OP is probably right. I really doubt she's a "healthy 100m sprinter".

Anorexia is a medical term for a sate of being underweight as as a result of loss of appetite often related to other diseases. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder both are different. This woman may have athletica nervosa or any number of eating or exercising disorders.

Most people say "anorexia" as short for the eating disorder, especially in this context.

OP. I think people have been very offensive to you here.
and FIVEFOUR OP was talking in general terms about a person unknown to us, What has been said to OP has been personally directed at her.

OP Could you have a word with that staff at the gym and maybe give them the details of the help available so the young lady wouldn't feel you had been 'interferring'

Yanbu op. My dsis is a recovering anorexic (just got her bmi up to 17.5 so so proud) and it's unbearable watching someone exercising themselves to death.

With my dsis we were advised not to stop her exercising as it would take some control away from her and she would only eat after a workout as a reward so she wouldn't have eaten.

The idea of you giving her your card sounds like a good idea to me. We found trying to get dsis help incredibly difficult she was diagnosed October 2010 and by June 11 she still hadn't had a referral to a clinic. The only help available was group meetings which we didn't want her to attend.

You sound like a fantastic caring person

With my dsis we were advised not to stop her exercising as it would take some control away from her and she would only eat after a workout as a reward so she wouldn't have eaten.

Wannabe - you are spot on. I keep coming back to this thread as it has stirred up so many memories. As I posted previously, I suffered from AN in the past. For 10 years to be exact, from my teens to mid twenties.

It's a very complex illness - far too complex to go into on a thread - but the word "control" sums a lot of it up for me.
I did not like my thin body, I hated it, but it was all about controlling my food intake. I knew the risk I was taking and that I had to get some nutrients into my body on a daily basis. The trade off was that I exercised like mad. If somebody had tried to stop that exercising, I would have gone into a panic and downward spiral and probably eaten less.

I'm glad to hear your sister is on the road to recovery.

Knee, I can relate, I think it was discovering that I could get a sense of control from exercise that stopped me from starving myself to death.
Nearly 30 years on I'm not exactly cured, I may qualify for the diagnosis anorexia athletica but I dont believe I am doing anything which harms my health

knees my sister could have written your post she wants to be "sexy" like a kardashian or a playmate but she's scared of losing control.

sara you sound a lot like my sister she's really got into marathons as a release.

Really pleased you both have come through it.

Are you certain she's anorexic and not just suffering from some physical health condition that means she cannot put on weight?
Do you think you could make friends and speak to her?

I think I MAY say something to the staff, depends-better to be safe than sorry.

my feeling is that there are points of no return with anorexia, or certainly points from which it is very difficult to get back to any kind of normal.
The longer a person spends over exercising and/or restricting food in take the more it becomes an entrenched part of their character.

That may be tolerable if a person is stable, but if a persons weight is dropping, or they go beyond a certain state of emaciation that I guess organ damage is inevitable.

Perhaps a friendly word with the right person might help?
I dont know, in my case I remember that one day I had a sort of epiphany where I could see that I would die if I carried on, so I began to refeed myself...but exercised more to compensate, I did gain weight however, I went from a bmi of around 15 to just under 18

I suppose I said "frustrating" because I'd like to fix them but I can't; and they're very painful to be around, otherwise. I used to have an eating disorder which means I spent years sharing support groups with anorexics. Active anorexics are ime obvious and extremely different from people who are underweight for any other reason. I don't find distinguishing anorexics who starve from those who exercise excessively useful though; many annies do plenty of both.

I can easily believe OP is right in her assessment.

(I become upset hearing little babies cry, too.)

Whether anything can be done to help the woman, I don't know. :(

There are so many misconceptions about anorexia and Eating Disorders generally on this thread. That is nobody's fault, they are just very little-understood illnesses.

Anorexia is diagnosed at a BMI of 17.5 or below - with some other associated criteria. That does not mean there are no anorexic people heavier than this. There may well be people with a low BMI who do not have an Eating Disorder - but the OP is right to say that the diagnosis is based on BMI.

Yes, there might be people who look perfectly healthy who have Eating Diosorders and could have a cardiac arrest whilst exercising.

But based on the girl's appearance, and exercise behaviour, it is a reasonable assumption that the OP has made.

Yes, anorexia will lead to people going to great lengths to exercise...but the secrecy around it needs to be broken in order for a sufferer to accept their illness and its severity. The girl in question might well use the reasoning: "they let me use the gym, it can't be dangerous..." - but the OP is only talking about raising her concerns with the gym, which I think is a sensible thing to do.

OP - the Charity "Beat" has a leaflet for gyms that can be given out. Interestingly, private gyms were the only people who consistently refused to display information about Eating Disorders along with their other health information.

The gym would just be fulfilling their duty of care

I do wish people wouldn't make up law that doesn't exist. As far as I'm aware, there is no case law where a gym was found negligent for failing to take aside a certain gym user because of their appearance. And there is no legislation covering it either. The Health and Safety At Work Act1974 does not apply, because the gym user is not at work!

babababoom But based on the girl's appearance, and exercise behaviour, it is a reasonable assumption that the OP has made

Lets just hope that this isn't the local running star in training. The OP might have been around anorexics, but it doesn't sound as if she has been around elite athletes!

like Ilsa Paulson, for example