Whether students are a size 2 or a size 20, the second-annual “All Sizes Fit” week@@http://healthcenter.uoregon.edu/Home/AllSizesFit.aspx@@ hopes to change the way they view their bodies.
“I don’t think there’s someone who has not had negative body image thoughts,” University senior Vanessa Kristensen @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Vanessa+Kristensen@@said. “I think body image is an important issue that people don’t talk about.”
Kristensen, along with University senior Alexandra Ndegwa@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Alexandra+Ndegwa@@, began the “All Sizes Fit” campaign last year to raise body image awareness on campus. The campaign was inspired by a project they worked on about unrealistic body ideals in the media for the Peer Health Educators at the University Health Center.@@http://healthcenter.uoregon.edu/Home/PeerHealthEducators.aspx@@
This year, the campaign collaborated with the University Counseling and Testing Center@@http://counseling.uoregon.edu/dnn/@@ and the Student Recreation Center to plan events every day this week, including free yoga classes and discussions and lectures about body image and eating disorders. Ndegwa and Kristensen said they also worked with more diverse student groups this year, such as LGBTQA.@@http://pages.uoregon.edu/lgbtqa/links.html@@
“We really wanted to focus on cross-cultural perspectives and how body image affects different cultural groups,” Kristensen said.
On Tuesday, a panel will discuss how body image issues affect the LGBTQA community. And on Thursday, former college lacrosse player Patrick Bergstrom will speak about his struggle with anorexia and how men are also affected by negative body image and eating disorders.@@http://www.ichosetolive.com/@@
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, about 10 million women and one million men in the United States have an eating disorder@@http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/information-resources/general-information.php@@, such as anorexia or bulimia. People with a negative body image are more likely to develop an eating disorder or have problems with obsessive eating and exercising.
Jessica Wilson, nutritionist at the University Health Center and student advisor@@http://newsletter.uoregon.edu/archives/fall-2011/kudos-5/@@ for “All Sizes Fit,” said the group has been successful getting more students to talk and think about body image. The group has a “No Fat Talk” pledge to encourage students to not talk about fat on others or themselves. Wilson said 404 people signed the pledge last year.
According to Kristensen, “All Sizes Fit” is close to becoming an ASUO-recognized student group. With ASUO funding, the campaign hopes to organize year-round events about body image and eating disorders.
“There are so many media sources that try to tell us how to look,” Kristensen said. “But you don’t have to fit the cookie-cutter mold. We can help prevent eating disorders and make people feel more confident in themselves.”