Thin

“86.5.” In the opening scenes of Thin, this number flashes across the screen. A woman, the ridges of her spine apparent through her skin, steps off the scale. 86.5 – it’s her weight, in pounds. She’s one of 40 women that the nurses have wakened for daily checks of weight, temperature, and vital signs at the Renfrew Center, an eating-disorder treatment facility set amidst the palm trees and well-manicured lawns of Coconut Creek, Florida. Over the course of six months, a documentary crew will follow the stories of four women as they fight to gain control of their eating habits and their lives. We see the daily routine at Renfrew, from conflict-filled group therapy sessions, to emotional individual therapy sessions, to challenging mealtimes, to private moments in the patients’ rooms. We see how the women support one another, as well as the struggles they face as individuals. Above all, we see how difficult it is for these women to recover when they are, literally, dying to be thin.Show more