Katie Couric Reveals Her History of Bulemia to Demi Lovato

Katie Couric opened to her audiences during a recording of her show “Katie,” by admitting, “I battled an eating disorder all through college until I was in my mid-twenties.”

She used the confession to transition to her interview with “X-Factor” judge Demi Lovato, who has been open about her struggles with anorexia, bulimia, and self-mutilation.

Demi was frank about the issues she has overcome. She discusses how she was worried about her weight from as young as 3, and started her bingeing behaviors at just 8 years old. At 12, girls at school were bullying her and teasing her about her weight. Lovato left school and began homeschooling, too overcome by the pressures.

Lovato also brings awareness to the serious issues of bullying, cyber bullying and verbal harassment, saying that she often wished the girls had just hit her rather than brutalize her with words that stick with her to this day.

She speaks with Couric about how she was losing her voice from her purging—at one point she was purging up to 6 times a day. She thought a glass of juice would make her "gain 5 pounds." There was one week where she went on only 2 meals. She was performing concerts on an empty stomach.

Lovato claims that she thinks that her particular struggle with the issue was ingrained in her at a young age, especially as eating disorders run in her family. However she credits blog commenters and websites who remarked that she “looked fat” as being a significant reason she struggled.

The average age of an onset of an eating disorder is between 18 and 21 but girls as young as 5 are worrying about their weight with all the pressures from society. We applaud Lovato for bringing attention to a serious issue, and opening up about her personal battles gives other girls struggling with self-image someone to look up to.

Remember that words do have an impact.