Was Anna malnourished?

[isarhenne]

Was Anna Duggar malnourished before she married Josh? I remember her : She looked haggard , very thin, with hair that looked unhealthy.

 

Now, after three children and all that stress of dealing with them 24/7, she still looks way healthier and better than 6 years ago.

 

Do you think when fundies grow up in very big families there is a prevelance of them being malnourished until they get married and eat all the stuff they want?

[singsingsing]

To me she just seems like she's grown into herself and become more of a woman. No big surprise, she was only 20 when she married. It's possible she's eating better now, but I think she's just matured. If you look at pictures of the Kellers throughout their childhood and teenage years they don't look unhealthy.

[eh02]

I don't know about malnourished - she's probably just been exposed to a lot more "normal" clothes, makeup options, ways to style her hair etc. I agree that she really looks great now vs. the crunchy hair and really awful skirts from when she met Josh. When they went to get the marriage license and had those awful matching shirts on - YIKES. I'm not sure she'd be caught dead in those now.

From the spectator point of view, I do think she looks healthier now, but I am hesitant to say that could be more a sign of her having been malnourished than just knowing how to style herself better and being more confident these days. She probably feels a lot of pressure to stay meticulously styled to not look like the Frump Queen next to Jessa or Jana. Plus, even if Josh's job is a sham, it's a very image-heavy position, and she's expected to be the put together wife to play that role convincingly.

There's a decent percent of people who start eating healthier when they have kids, I've found - even with all of the stress. You want to prepare healthy food for your kids to eat, and you usually end up eating what they're eating.

[Feberin]

I don't think she was malnourished especially since for that to be true then all the Kellers would have to be malnourished and I don't think that was the case. I agree with others that part of it is knowing how to style her hair and put on her make up better. I also think she was underweight before she started having kids so the extra weight she's carried since then actually helps her look better.

[Selah]

I still can't quite get over the difference in her from the 17/18 kids and counting days. The thin piece of hair oh so carefully sectioned off as a 'fringe' used to drive me wild :angry-banghead:

[bluehydrangea]

No. I don't think she was malnourished, nor do I think that there's a prevalence of it in fundie families. It seems to me that in fundie families, family meals/food are very important and if anything, they have a tendency to eat junk, a la tater tot casserole. I think she was young, and her metabolism has slowed down with age and having children, and thus she has gained weight.

[roddma]

She may have been underweight but not malnourished. It likely was easier to feed 8 kids than 19.

IMO eating healthy has more to do with education, finances, circumstance, and resources. I dont think any one person eats right 100% regardless of their parental status. We all break over especially when we run late or just too dang tired. It is easier to throw together spaghetti and sauce or run through the Mickey D drive than cook a meat and three when you just arent in the mood.

[veron1que]

Her hair is definitely thicker, but that could be prenatal vitamins.

I think her change in appearance is a combo of the end of her awkward phase and a diet change.

[Maggie Mae]

Why is it okay to speculate if someone who isn't overweight is malnurished? FJ is better than body snark.

[CorruptionInc.]

I think Anna just has learnt how to use beauty products and dress better as she's had access to more funds. She definitely wasn't malnourished - her body has changed, she's had three kids after all.

[MoonFace]

Perhaps the trainer that Josh had influenced their food choices. She may be trying to fix healthier meals for them all

That and some better choices in second hand clothing shops.............

[Hisey]

I don't know if Anna was malnourished or not. I agree she looked awful in the past, especially her horrible hairdo. She has probably gotten lots of advice from makeup/hair people who are part of TLC.

However, I do wonder about some fundie kids, especially the girls. The incomes are so small, and the families so big, and there is a preference for the boy children. I wonder if most of those girls grow up eating tube meat, lots of white bread, and cheap processed foods.

I shop for a family of four, and my husband makes a steady and good income. Despite this, I find that fresh fruit and high quality meat can be very expensive, especially now that my kids are adolescents.

People say teen boys eat a lot, and I'm sure that's true, but my tween and teen girls eat a lot of food too. My youngest is rail thin and never stops eating. She is growing fast and the charts say she will be very tall. We try to give her healthy food, which she eats willingly, but no matter what she is always hungry two hours after every meal.

It makes me think of fundie families. How do they feed 3-4 teenagers with huge appetites on an unstable or tiny income? Do those kids really get the food they need for optimal growth? Are boys given the best foods, as in "Let your brother have the last piece of chicken, he's growing into a MAN". That used to happen in my mother's home when she was growing up, and they were not fundie.

[CorruptionInc.]

I don't know if Anna was malnourished or not. I agree she looked awful in the past, especially her horrible hairdo. She has probably gotten lots of advice from makeup/hair people who are part of TLC.

However, I do wonder about some fundie kids, especially the girls. The incomes are so small, and the families so big, and there is a preference for the boy children. I wonder if most of those girls grow up eating tube meat, lots of white bread, and cheap processed foods.

I shop for a family of four, and my husband makes a steady and good income. Despite this, I find that fresh fruit and high quality meat can be very expensive, especially now that my kids are adolescents.

People say teen boys eat a lot, and I'm sure that's true, but my tween and teen girls eat a lot of food too. My youngest is rail thin and never stops eating. She is growing fast and the charts say she will be very tall. We try to give her healthy food, which she eats willingly, but no matter what she is always hungry two hours after every meal.

It makes me think of fundie families. How do they feed 3-4 teenagers with huge appetites on an unstable or tiny income? Do those kids really get the food they need for optimal growth? Are boys given the best foods, as in "Let your brother have the last piece of chicken, he's growing into a MAN". That used to happen in my mother's home when she was growing up, and they were not fundie.

My brothers used to steal my food, but now they're going to have to put up a fight if they want to steal my food now! Provided I haven't eaten it all before they want some hehe. Yes I'm nearly 30 and my brothers are in their 40's, but we all still really like food. :)

[Hisey]

When my 11-year old was little and people would ask her what her hobby was, she would answer seriously, "Eating."

[MatthewDuggar]

She probably saw herself on the shows and thought "wow I hate my hair" , "My front teeth are so ugly" "I should wear better makeup" and made changes.

As far as the weight, I though only a fraction of women who had several babies ever went back to their original weight?

[RosyDaisy]

The woman has 3 kids and one on the way. Unless she is watching her diet and exercising regularly, she will probably be more curvy than she was years ago. Plus, I'm betting some DC wives have helped her with clothes, makeup, and hair.

[fabkiwi06]

Maybe not malnourished, but I suspect the single version of Anna paid more attention to keeping her weight down than the frequently pregnant married version of Anna. There seems to be a culture of such preening rituals - look at how tiny the Duggar girls are. I'm curious to see how Jill manages that aspect of her life.

Also, full disclaimer... I think Anna looks fab at this point in her life. Whatever she's doing is working for her. No body snarking intended.

[jerkit]

I think this is a serious stretch.

[kmary1]

I am amazed that she was that thin with all the processed crap fundies seem to eat. Same with the Duggar girls. I wouldn't be surprised if she watched what she ate in the lead-up to the wedding, especially knowing she'd be on tv. I'm glad she's done so much better with her hair and makeup and I think she generally looks great for someone who's already had 3 kids and not much time in between to bother losing the weight.

[Georgiana]

When Anna first came on the show, I thought she just looked like your average, lanky teenager. I mean, she was BARELY 20! Lots of girls/women don't really "fill out" until their early 20's, and it looks like Anna did just that after she started having kids.

Also, the Kellers may be shockingly athletic. Pris was a runner pre-marriage, and the Keller family compound has a tennis court, a pool, and I think a basketball court. It wouldn't surprise me if Anna was much more physically active before kids than she is now, and was just never able to put on weight because of it.

[Trynn]

Malnourished MAYBE, if her family are the same kind of crap the Duggar's eat.

[EmmieJ]

I agree with those that think she was not malnourished, but rather a thin, and somewhat awkward young woman. I think she has gained quite a lot of confidence and style since she's been married and looks really good. She doesn't plaster on the self-tanner or make-up. She looks very fresh and naturally pretty.

[FreeHannie!]

She probably saw herself on the shows and thought "wow I hate my hair" , "My front teeth are so ugly" "I should wear better makeup" and made changes.

This is what I think happened too.

She was very awkward looking at the beginning but has started to look really quite pretty in more recent season. She's started paying more attention to her clothes and make up and ditched the crunchy curls for softer waves and it shows. (I think she'd have a very different wedding dress and hairstyle if she got to choose again).

Plus as others said, she was only 20 when she married. She was barely out of her teenage years and she has obviously matured and grown up physically and mentally in that time.

[actuallyjessica]

malnorished does not always mean someone is starving from lack of food, it means that their body is starving from lack of nutrients found in food. just because they had less kids than say, the duggars, it does not mean that their family was able to properly feed those 8 kids... for all we know, they could've been eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

anna could've also been very stressed, lack of appetite and therefore a scrawny appearance is a possible outcome. no one knows how the kellers ate or lived, we can only speculate, but i think it's silly to assume that just because their family was 'small' it meant they ate like kings.

[singsingsing]

Anna never looked malnourished, though. She was very slender, but she didn't look sickly. She doesn't have the thick, lustrous locks of her sisters-in-law but that doesn't mean she was unhealthy, just that she has fine hair. It's possible that she was a bit anemic like many young women, and supplements taken once she started getting pregnant helped.