A heartbreaking story and one that I think happens far more often than most of us imagine. I don't want to get into a discussion/argument about how not all thin people have eating disorders, which is certainly true, but speaking only for myself, I feel concerned for the weights of Qing Pang and the Zhang girl. Even Jenny Kirk looked frail to my eyes at IFSC, though I'm sure Richard Callaghan isn't "starving" her or even putting pressure on her to lose weight. It's an inherent problem in all sports where a low body weight is an advantage--for women, gymnastics, diving, figure skating, distance running, to name just a few; for men--wrestling, diving, distance running.
I recently read that last season Sasha Cohen was eating almost no carbohydrates, just lean protein and salads. Remember when people wondered if she had gotten too thin? A diet of less than about 60 grams of carbohydrate a day puts the body in a kind of starvation mode. Fortunately, Cohen then said she had changed her diet after reading up on and studying nutrition and how the body works and is now including complex carbohydrates in her diet.
The brain requires a lot of carbohydrate to function, as does the body, and any athlete who is undernourished is not going to function at its best for long. OTOH, the body is built for starvation--actually for periods of starvation interspersed with periods of feast--so ironically, athletes can compete at a high level often for years before the effects of being undernourished start showing up. Unfortunately, anytime you have a sport that promises great advantages there will be people who will take advantage of those who love the sport. I hope Yulia recovers well. Her skating wasn't great, but I enjoyed watching her.
Rgirl
:sheesh: 
