Miss America Opens Up About Long Battle with Anorexia

Kirsten started to alter her eating habits when she was still very young, when she noticed that other girls in her ballet class were also doing it.

“I was in ballet from just 3-years-old. So from a very early age, the ideal female body type was very thin. That was the first image I had,” she explains.

“I was living off coffee, Diet Coke and gum. Every once in a while, I'd have vegetables, fruit or a spoonful of peanut butter. I knew there was something wrong , but I didn't know how to stop,” Kirsten explains.

Her parents eventually stepped in and forced her to get help.

However, her recovery effectively began when her mother enlisted her in a beauty pageant because, she says, suddenly she found others to relate and reach out to.

“It was a really good educational period for me. From hearing other people's stories, I learned how to share my own personal struggles,” she explains.

Kirsten is now a political science major at Emory University, and is choosing to speak out to help other women struggling with the same issue to see they need help.