Greg Penney and Eating Disorders

Generation XXL Documentary Star Talks Food

Greg Penney was 1 of 4 teens starring in the documentary Generation XXL, directed by Teresa MacInnes, which aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on March 8, 2007.

The documentary followed Penney and his co-stars to a "Fat Camp," where they confronted issues surrounding their weight, self-esteem and body image.

Humor Masks Eating Disorder

"Because I've always been the class clown," Penney says, "it's not always easy to see the pain I carry inside. I come from a broken home, so growing up, food was sometimes my best friend."

Every day Penney came home to an empty house. He would head straight to the computer room and would mindlessly eat snack food, chips, popcorn and any homemade snacks. "I have eaten half of a cake just because it was there," he admits. "That's not to say that I didn't regret it after, but everyone says they regret it."

Penney's sister called him names like "brat," "spoiled," and "lazy," which only widened the emotional gap.

The poisonous attitude in Penney's early family life manifested itself in strange eating habits. Penney would eat supper, then dessert, then get up around midnight and eat some more. These tendencies continued into his school day, which was extremely disruptive. He'd sneak snacks, but always get caught.

"It got to the point where I would take food without really asking. It's safe to say this did not make me any friends...my eating habits were not only playing havoc with my body, but also my social life."

Mindful Eating vs. Mindless Eating

During the filming of the documentary, Penney learned about "mindless eating," eating foods while doing other activities such as watching TV or playing video games.

"An interesting trick I learned is 'mindful eating.' Take a piece of popcorn and chew on it for 1or 2 minutes. ust being conscious while eating makes a huge difference."

Since the documentary Penney has been able to cut down his eating to about "1/100 of its original size. It's a start."