Special: Dieting to Death

From November 27, 1989: Oprah talks to Rudine Howard, a woman weighing only 60 pounds, about her battle with anorexia nervosa. Rudine discusses her fear of food and how treatment with medical hypnotherapist Dr. Henry Parker helped her self-esteem. Other women suffering from bulimia share their patterns of bingeing and purging, the role of denial and why they see food as their only friend. Plus psychiatrist Dr. Patricia Santucci describes the characteristics of those who suffer from eating disorders, the adverse side effects and why it’s important to break the chain of secrecy. Rudine Howard later succumbed to her disease, passing away in 1996.