England’s Daily Star excerpted part of an interview from a frightening story in this week’s Closer magazine about Aly Gilardoni, an obese mother who put her daughter Corliegh on a strict diet at age 2 in the hopes of saving her from a lifetime of being overweight. Six years later, Corleigh is now worryingly underweight at just 70 lbs. and restricted to a diet of cereal and salad. “I’m obsessed with how she looks,” says Aly, “I want her to be pretty and popular and she wouldn’t be if she was bigger.”
Aly seems convinced that the weight issues she grapples with in her own life are hereditary, and has thus taken steps to, in her mind, protect her daughter from the torment she had to go through as an obese child. Worse yet, Aly’s preoccupation with her daughter’s appearance has instilled in Corleigh her own weight fixations. “Corleigh is always looking in mirrors,” she says, “I feel guilty – but it’s how I want her to be.” Click here to read the Daily Star’s story.
Aly Gilardoni’s story may seem like an extreme case, but obesity, anorexia and self-image remain very serious issues. Parents, how do you feel when you read this story? Can you empathize? Share your thoughts in the comment section.