Shedding light on her own personal struggles, Katie Couric revealed on her new afternoon talk show Monday that she struggled with bulimia in her 20s.
The newswoman went public with her battle with an eating disorder during a chat with singer Demi Lovato who has also lived with an eating disorder.
"I wrestled with bulimia all through college and for two years after that," Couric said. "And I know this rigidity, this feeling that if you eat one thing that's wrong, you're full of self-loathing and then you punish yourself, whether it's one cookie or a stick of gum that isn't sugarless, that I would sometimes beat myself up for that," she said.
"How do you have a healthy relationship with food, and say, 'You know what, I can have one cookie and it's okay?' That is such a huge thing for people who wrestle with this," Couric said.
Couric told the audience she suffered from the eating disorder between the ages of 18 and 24 while she was a student at the University of Virginia, and continued to deal with it while she was a TV reporter. She credits a therapist for helping her overcome the disorder.
According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, up to 24 million people in the U.S. suffer from an eating disorder, including anorexia, bulimia and binge eating. It affects people of all ages and genders.
In Liverpool, Ophelia's Place helps people suffering from eating disorders.
