Anorexia starts early: do something NOW

We spot obese children a mile off, and hell don’t we love to go on about it. Not a day goes by that there isn’t a mention of obesity, junk food, health problems caused by poor, unbalanced diets and increasingly, this is geared not only at the parents responsible for feeding their children crap, but at the children themselves.

By Ilona Burton | Health, Notebook | Tuesday, 5 April 2011 at 8:57 am

“Activists first, Musicians second” – The King Blues Interview

You may not have heard of The King Blues, you may not like their music if you have, but none of that matters. With the upcoming release of their third album Punk and Poetry, a sell out tour, a Summer packed with festivals and whispers of breaking into America, I wanted to talk to the band about what’s keeping them awake at night.

By Ilona Burton | Notebook | Monday, 4 April 2011 at 6:27 pm

Blogging through illness: help or hindrance?

Sharing your deepest secrets with strangers over the internet shouldn’t come naturally, should it? What did we do with ourselves before we discovered that we could use the world wide web as a platform to vent, to moan, to release all the thoughts that otherwise are compartmentalised in the depths of the mind, refusing to [...]

By Ilona Burton | Health, Notebook | Sunday, 27 March 2011 at 9:10 pm

The Cost of Obesity

£4.2 billion is spent on obesity every year by the NHS. Pretty huge. This astonishing amount of money is spent on gastric bypass operations, stomach stapling, jaw wiring, cosmetic surgery and medications for diabetes, high blood pressure and numerous other problems brought on by living lazily on a diet of, well, crap.
Today, whilst lazing [...]

By Ilona Burton | Notebook | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 12:00 am

Lost in Translation

You’re one of twelve in a jury. It is your job to decide a persons fate. Guilty or not guilty. You have to be sure. If you’re not sure you have to find him or her not guilty. If the charge put to them carries a lengthy sentence, you could say their life is in [...]

By Ilona Burton | Notebook | Monday, 14 March 2011 at 10:17 pm

You can never be too thin…

Well, not thin (or scantilly clad) enough for Burda Magazines, The People and Femail.
As part of last week’s activities to spread awareness of Eating Disorders, especially the challenge to the media of how they go about reporting mental illnesses such as Anorexia and Bulimia, I agreed to give an interview to a freelance journalist who [...]

By Ilona Burton | Notebook | Tuesday, 1 March 2011 at 7:23 pm

Anorexia isn’t a choice. Recovery is.

I seem to spend half my life explaining and re-explaining to certain readers and regular commenters the fact that Anorexia, Bulimia and other Eating Disorders are not a choice. Not a lifestyle nor a diet-gone-too-far. Not a display of pure vanity nor a selfish act.
I don’t get bored of it. If something needs hammering home [...]

By Ilona Burton | Notebook | Monday, 28 February 2011 at 10:59 pm

Eating Disorders – the good, the bad and the ugly

Thank God it’s Friday. Here’s a treat for you – Ilona’s Guide to the ins and outs and highs and lows of Anorexia and Bulimia:
The Good

You’re invincible (until you collapse in a heap or wind up on bedrest with a tube up your nose)
You’re in control (of everything except your thoughts, relationships, health, oh [...]

By Ilona Burton | Notebook | Friday, 25 February 2011 at 6:32 pm

If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry…

“I never thought I’d see you two and food in the same room at the same time.”
It was my Uncle Jack’s funeral today. A beautiful mass, the perfect sending off.
This came in the pub afterwards. Three or four generations gathered in an old room round the back of the bar. I was chatting away to [...]

By Ilona Burton | Notebook | Wednesday, 23 February 2011 at 11:31 pm

My Interview on Eating Disorders

Straight from the Anorexic’s mouth:
BBC Interview with myself and Dr Ty Glover
Zap to 1 hour 9 minutes…
More later!

By Ilona Burton | Notebook | Tuesday, 22 February 2011 at 6:21 pm