A Dilema
This is an epilogue to my ‘woman on the treadmill’ post. There is a young woman who I have seen several times at our local fitness club, who is noticeably and significantly underweight. I see her there every time I go to the club. She is on the treadmill when I arrive, and is still going when I leave – sometimes two hours later. I suspect she works out for hours a day. And to allay any misconceptions about my own activity level: I’m usually there to play pickleball with old people. It can be intense, but is only mildly aerobic.
Sufferers in the grip of a severe eating disorder can be driven to obsessively exercise. This is ED at its most insidious — compelling its sufferers to become ever-more committed to their illness. When she was at her sickest, Guzzy could not sit still. She would compulsively rapidly bounce and jiggle her legs whenever she had to sit–the whole couch would shake.
I have also pondered the liability to the health club itself, if they have members who are inflicting harm on themselves by excessive exercise, what is their responsibility? When I signed up (with my ‘older adult’ discount); I had to fill out a form assuring them that I was healthy enough to exercise and absolving them of any liability if I wasn’t truthful. But, what if the health club has a legitimate reason to believe a patron is NOT healthy enough to exercise or that exercise could be detrimental to an individual’s health? Do they have an obligation to Act? What obligation do any of us have to act when someone we don’t really know is exhibiting self-destructive behavior?
Which leads me back to my own dilema: What to do or say to the stranger on the treadmill? I am a mid-westerner and we don’t like to intrude or be rude. We mind our own beeswax. But… I believe we need to at least TRY to help if we see someone who is in need (even if they don’t realize it); so I have reached out to her. While I realize the odds of my intervention making a difference is small, the odds are (ever so slightly) greater than zero; and I sleep better at night.