By Jessica Silvaggio
CNN Medical Intern

When I was a freshman at the University of South Carolina, I became a peer health educator. The health topics we promoted on campus included body image and eating disorders. This hit home for me.

Since I was 13 I have been competing in beauty pageants. One pageant director told me I would never win if I didn’t lose 20 pounds. I obsessed about my weight, cut my 1,200-calorie diet in half, and worked out twice a day. All of this just to be the girl who walked down the runway, waving, with the bouquet in my arms and the crown on my head. When I came to college I compared myself with other girls on campus, continued to count calories and wore oversized clothes to hide what I thought was a heavy body, which, in fact, was far from true. I just didn’t like the way I looked.

According to the University of California Davis, approximately 15 percent of college women and a rising number of men suffer from eating disorders. A distorted body image and dieting can contribute to eating disorders. Two ruling passions in my life were too little food and too much exercise. This had to stop.  Surely there was a way to build confidence and feel good about my body. I had to strive to value myself for other strengths such as intelligence, my outgoing personality and dancing abilities.

While training as a peer health educator, I learned to cope with my unattainable pursuit of perfection. I realized I had to learn to praise myself and have a positive attitude to boost my self-esteem. Exercise was good for me but not for weight loss – instead to reduce stress, promote strength, balance, and flexibility. I learned that eating well-balanced meals was healthier than cutting calories. And support from friends and family members was vital.

After seeking counseling on campus and realizing that God had blessed me with a healthy body, I was able to educate my peers on an issue that was personal. I have overcome my body image battle. Through the process, I learned that I have to be comfortable in my own genes or should I say jeans?

Do you have an issue with your body image? We’d like to hear about it.

Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Danielle Dellorto
CNN Medical Producer

I was on the phone with my friend the other night having ordinary “girl talk” when I heard an exaggerated gasp on the other end of the line. “Are you OK?” I immediately asked, worried something awful had happened. “I’m fine,” she said. “I was just looking in the mirror and realized my hair is getting so thin! I’m going to be bald before you know it.”

The truth is, my thirtysomething friend is not going to end up bald like her shiny-headed husband, but she is joining over 50 percent of women who’ll experience hair loss before age 50.

That number may seem high but doctors say “female-pattern balding” occurs all the time - but women just don’t like to talk about. “It can be embarrassing for some women so they’ll just style their hair differently try to hide it,” says Dr. Paradi Mirmirani, a dermatologist in Vallejo, California and spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology.

Hair loss patterns in women are different from those you’d see in men. Most women experience thinning on the top of the head, or around the crown. Rarely do women experience receding hair lines or develop patches of total baldness, according to dermatologists.

It’s normal to lose about 100 strands of hair a day. If you notice your hair loss increasing, it’s important to talk to your doctor because while often hereditary, it can also be a sign of a serious medical condition, or a side effect from a prescription drug. (find a dermatologist in your area) 

I was surprised to learn not all 'hair loss' is created equal. Turns out, women can experience three different types:

Thinning:  This is the most common form of hair loss and it's hereditary. “You can pretty much look at either your mom or dad and determine if you’re at high risk,” says Mirmirani.

The normal growth cycle for hair is every two to six years. But as we age, the growth cycle shortens and the new strands of hair grow in fewer, and thinner. There is no prevention for hereditary hair thinning, but there are treatment options.

For those experiencing hereditary thinning, an over-the-counter topical medication containing 2 percent to 5 percent of the drug minoxidil will slow down the thinning process and help to re-grow new, stronger hair follicles. “This is a great treatment option but a women need to keep using it because if they stop, the same thinning pattern will develop all over again, “ notes Mirmirani.

Shedding:  Shedding occurs for a number of reasons, most often in women post-pregnancy. When pregnant, elevated hormone levels in the body cause your hair follicles to take a nap essentially and not shed the normal 100 hairs a day. “This is why you’ll often hear women talk about how great their hair looked during those nine months,” Mirmirani added. “Post-pregnancy, your hair’s natural growth cycle plays catch up and sheds a lot of hair at once, but in reality it’s the same amount you would have naturally lost if you never got pregnant.”

Over 290 medications can also cause hair shedding, according to the AAD. Most common medications to impact hair loss are amphetamines, beta blockers, antidepressants and blood thinners.

Lack of a properly balanced diet, including getting enough iron, will also cause hair to shed. An over- or under-active thyroid is also a common factor.

“The good thing for a person experiencing hair shedding to know is that it’s absolutely not permanent–the hair will grow back the same as it was before.”

Experts say about six months after eliminating the reason for the increased shedding (example, after pregnancy, or once your thyroid is regulated), your hair will go back to normal.

Breakage: If you’re like me, it’s not uncommon to frequently use an extra hot flat-iron on your luscious locks. But do you ever wonder where all the hair on your bathroom floor came from afterwards? Frequent use of flat-irons and hot rollers can cause damage and hair loss. “The root or hair follicle isn’t being impacted, but the actual hair strands are damaged and will break off from the root with frequent use.” Note to self: cut back on the flat-iron!

How about you? Have you noticed your hair thinning out as you age? Is hair loss really a “taboo” topic for women? Are there any treatments or shampoos that worked for you? Share your story below!

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Andrea Kane
CNNhealth.com Producer

The other day, I stumbled across an article about Cerrie Burnell, the co-host of a British TV show for toddlers. Turns out she has an incomplete right arm, which some parents fear might scare their children. Other parents thought that the BBC was trying to be too politically correct, too inclusive, in the name of diversity by featuring her so prominently.

After my initial flash of incredulity (what, scare kids??!! pish!) it got me thinking: How would my children react?

If past experience is any indication, their first response would be wide-eyed amazement: Are they seeing what they really think they are seeing? This would be followed by intense curiosity (What happened to that person? Why is she like that? How does she tie her shoelaces?). If they could, they would (much to my embarrassment) certainly want to touch, examine and ask.

Last summer, there was a boy with one arm (or, rather, like Burnell, an incomplete arm that ended just below the elbow) who appeared at their day camp. While he was not in either of their groups, the girls (who are 7 and 9) got plenty of chances to peer at him as their paths crossed throughout the day. By the time that same boy showed up at another camp they attended later that summer, he was old news. They didn’t much like him, my youngest confided - not because of his missing arm, but because he was mean.

Their eventual comfort with him is not to say that my eldest didn’t struggle. She would get a bit haunted at night when he popped into her thoughts. I think it was equal amounts of fear and pity and empathy. But she and I talked about him, and how he looked to be happy and to be enjoying himself, despite his “disability” (which I suspect didn’t stop him much). And we talked about how he is loved by his parents, just as she is loved by hers.

I think this struggling is good for her. It allowed her to work through uncomfortable feelings – of pity, of fear, or fascination, or whatever - and eventually came to peace with them - and with the boy, and with his difference.

At the risk of sounding Pollyanna-ish, I think it is good for kids and grown-ups to struggle against what they fear just because it’s different. It helps us grow and grow-up as human beings. Think about the strong public reaction, 50 years ago, to interracial couples. Or 10 years, ago to gay couples. The more visible they are, the less unusual - and less threatening - they become. It's about perceiving others, including their differences, as ordinary people, just like you and me, which is what they are, after all, aren't they?

Some may think that making Burnell co-host is a bold move. But it is only by making such a move that we can show kids that people who are “different” have just as much right to be visible as anyone else.

Should people be forced out of their comfort zone? I’d like to hear what you think.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Jennifer Pifer-Bixler
CNN Medical Senior Producer

One of my favorite television shows is “Intervention.” On the show, people with harrowing addictions are confronted by loved ones with the help of a trained interventionist. Typically, the episodes end with the addicts going to rehab. It's my idea of “must see TV”: trauma, drama and redemption all wrapped into an hour. Most of the time, the people on the show are addicted to drugs or alcohol. But there was one addict with a different story. Josh was a compulsive overeater. In his early 20s, Josh spent his days gorging on fast food and sweets. He weighed nearly 550 pounds and was miserable. Every time Josh walked up the stairs, he felt as if he were going to have a heart attack. Something about Josh really struck me. He had a gentle demeanor. His passion was singing and he had a beautiful voice. When he went away to the rehab, I was really rooting for him. The other night, I caught a follow-up episode on Josh. It's hard to believe what's happened to him.

Josh's story came to mind as I read an unsettling statistic. For the first time, obese Americans now outnumber the merely overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 32 percent of Americans are overweight, 34 percent obese and 6 percent are extremely obese. To put that into perspective, if you are 5 feet 5 and weigh 150 lbs, that's considered overweight. If you weigh 180, that's considered obese. Statistically, women as a whole tend to be a tad more obese then men. As we've pointed out many times, America has an obesity epidemic. Over the years, we've seen a number of carrots and sticks offered as ways to combat to this major U.S. health issue. Some health insurance policies offer discounted gym memberships to help people watch their weight. In New York City, certain restaurants have to post calorie information on menu and menu boards. In Mississippi, lawmakers even discussed proposing a bill that would make it illegal for restaurants to serve obese people. That idea was shot down pretty quickly. Ideas abound. But still the numbers go up. Why? I decided to ask an unconventional expert.

I tracked down Josh. He is doing great. In the past year and a half, he has lost close to 249 pounds. He's now around 300 pounds and is working hard to lose 100 more pounds. I asked him why he thought the number of obese Americans is growing. While he doesn't claim to speak for all obese people, Josh thinks for most of them food is an addiction. "It's a cheap way to stuff down emotions," says Josh. "I used food as a drug so I didn't have to feel." Josh says food for him is like booze for an alcoholic. "I don't think it's a matter of willpower. I could not control the power of food," he says. He couldn't just have one sliver of cake. "I'd eat the whole thing," he says. Like an addict looking for his next fix, Josh says, he use to plan his days around when he was going to eat and what. When he went into rehab, Josh says he had to come to terms with some things about who he is and what he wants. "The number on the scale is just one small part of the story," he says. "The real miracle has come through my spiritual and emotional growth. My goal is to help other people who have been where I was."

I love Josh's story and hope he continues to lose the weight and grow into the man he wants to become. His confidence is soaring. He plans to audition for “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent.” Josh has become a success story in America’s obesity epidemic. I am curious. Do you think obesity is the result of addiction? Do you think health insurance companies should pay for compulsive eating rehab?

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

Isabelle Dinoire underwent the first partial face transplant in France in November 2005

But how normal can it be? Imagine looking in the mirror and seeing someone totally different – the face of the transplant tissue donor? No - that’s not really what happens, as we've seen in the case of Isabelle Dinoire, the French woman who underwent the very first partial face transplant in Lyon, France, three years ago. Although today she doesn’t look like she did before her face was mauled by her dog, she also doesn’t look like the transplant donor; she has a different visage altogether. She faces a lifetime of taking anti-rejection drugs, and was reported to have twice experienced violent reactions to the new tissue, and the drugs caused infection and even kidney failure.

The Cleveland Clinic docs strongly emphasized that this isn’t just a cosmetic procedure (although it does involve plastic surgery), and they were very careful about picking the right person. After exhausting all other possible treatments, and after rigorous physical and psychological evaluations, she was chosen to receive the transplant. But it’s just a matter of time before they do the first full face transplant, and surely down the line, the procedure will become more and more frequent.

Do you foresee regular, healthy people (with lots of money!) undergoing face transplants just for the heck of it? If so, do you have a problem with it, moral, ethical, or otherwise?

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Shahreen Abedin
CNN Medical Producer

While researching "The Body Project," an eating disorders prevention program that's seeing remarkable progress so far in an area that has seen few if any truly effective programs at all, I interviewed Carolyn Becker, a psychologist at Trinity University in San Antonio who specializes in eating disorders. 

Becker adapted the program's curriculum specifically to be administered to college-age women by their own peers in sorority houses.  Studies show a reduction of eating disorder risks by 61 percent through The Body Project.  

All the sororities at Trinity have been using the body program since 2001, and Becker says the college adaptation has had results comparable to the original model, which was focused on both high school and college-age women and administered by teachers and counselors. 

The program works by making women recognize how "the thin ideal" - the notion that you need to be skinny to be beautiful – is thrust upon us through media and marketing images.  Then, through acts of "body activism," like leaving "you are beautiful" notes in dieting books and posting similar messages in public restrooms, participants begin to reject the thin ideal for themselves and their own bodies.

According to Becker, we're about to see this project implemented on college campuses on a grand scale, mainly because of the role of Delta Delta Delta (a.k.a. Tri Delta), the national sorority that has rolled out the program in eleven of its chapters so far.  Tri Delta funded the publication of the college-based curriculum, which will be available to any college that wants to use it, and although Becker doesn't have definite numbers, she tells me she conservatively estimates that we'll see the program implemented in at least 20 to 25 college campuses in the 2008-2009 academic year.   

It makes me think about my college days, when I was finally on my own and could make a 2 A.M. fast food run or eat cookie dough for dinner, without having to answer to the parentals.  Now that I think about it, it was one of those first steps of adulthood:  having complete autonomy over my own eating habits. 

How did your college experience shape how you eat as an adult?  Did you basically stick to what you were already doing at home?  Did you put on the 'freshmen fifteen, or was that just a myth for you?  Did you end up losing weight in an effort to conform to aesthetic ideals instilled in us on campus?  Did you feel like you were under a lot more pressure to conform than you were in high school? 

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation