Angelina Jolie not anorexic--just on a sympathy diet

Angelina Jolie is not anorexic; just on a sympathy diet. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Angelina Jolie has forever sparked rumors when it comes to her slender physique, but the actress has always denied having an eating disorder, despite media images that hint otherwise. The same rumors started flying recently, while Jolie worked diligently on directing the film “Unbroken.”

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Appearing on set striking thin and eating very little according to people on the set, the media went abuzz with speculation Angelina was dealing with anorexia. The truth, however, is a very different scenario. According to Japanese pop star Miyavi, who was participating in the film, Jolie was thin from a sympathy diet, not from an eating disorder.

“Angelina was so thin because most of the actors were not able to eat because they’re prisoners in the prison camp,” Miyavi told Radio Times Dec. 24. “She was so close to us. She came to the set every day, giving advice to the actors, and she actually didn’t eat much either.”

“Unbroken” is the story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic athlete, who, after drifting for 47 days in the Pacific Ocean was eventually captured during World War II and held in a Japanese prison camp. Zamperini was captured in 1943 and held until 1945, undergoing vicious mistreatment during his detainment. Throughout it all, he did his best to keep up the spirits of his fellow prisoners, writing various documents to keep the captives’ minds off of their food and surrounding conditions.

Whether conscious or not, Angelina’s sympathy diet was a reflection of the conditions the actors were creating, and such dietary behaviors are not uncommon among people working together. Though there are no detailed studies directly addressing sympathy diets, the best example of this type of behavior is seen in men who have pregnant significant others.

According to research reported on by the New York Times, dads-to-be typically put on an average of 14 pounds during their significant other’s pregnancy. This has to do with men subconsciously adjusting their eating patterns to fit in with a pregnant woman’s–which typically means indulging in more snacks and increasing portion size.

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A sympathy diet can also been seen in other settings where people are together for meals in a long-term situation. Co-workers, for instance, often adopt one another’s eating habits. Sometimes the sympathy diet is deliberate: one co-worker wants to start eating healthy and solicits the involvement of other co-workers for support.

As for Angelina, the rumors will continue to persist, especially since it was once reported that she was taken by a close friend to the hospital after an “anorexic stage.” For now, however, her thin figure is being attributed to “Unbroken” and until an official statement comes out regarding an eating disorder, any remarks about Angelina Jolie and abnormal weight loss are just hearsay.

Angelina Jolie not anorexic–just on a sympathy diet  was originally published on vidatoday.com