Monday marked the first day of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, a time for people to learn more about diseases such as anorexia nervosa, the No. 1 killer of all psychological disorders.
The Student Health Peer Educators will staff a booth in the EMU to provide information about eating disorders throughout the week, and the University Counseling and Testing Center has posted educational bulletin boards in student residence halls.
This year’s EDAW theme is “Listen to Your Body,” and focuses on tips for eating a healthy balance of foods, recognizing personal hunger needs, and accepting the natural diversity of body shapes and sizes.
Dr. Brooks Morse, staff psychologist and eating disorder specialist at the counseling and testing center, said she hopes this year’s EDAW will help students learn to listen to their body’s messages and needs, rather than focusing on numbers on a scale.
“Health is based on more than numbers and weight — it’s more complicated than that,” Morse said. “Women and men need to be more aware of their overall health. Weight is the No. 1 thing people look at as far as health, but there are many other factors that determine if someone is healthy or not.”
The National Eating Disorders Association estimates 5 to 10 million post-pubescent girls and women and one million post-pubescent boys and men struggle with eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder or borderline conditions. Most of these cases go unidentified and untreated.
“I think that many people believe that eating disorders are diagnosed by body appearance and that if (someone) doesn’t look a certain way, very thin for example, they do not have an eating disorder,” Morse said. “This is one of the reasons that Eating Disorders Awareness Week is so important. Many people may have characteristics of an eating disorder and do not know it.” Eating disorders often develop during times of transition with peak onset occurring during puberty and lasting into early adulthood, according to University counselors. The move from high school to college may often be enough to trigger an eating disorder in an individual that is already dealing with disordered eating — skipping meals, depression or the like.
“Eating or not eating becomes a way of coping,” University Counselor and Eating Disorder Specialist Lori Bernstein said. “At the counseling center, we take an individual approach and work with students to help bring a stronger sense of self and discover new and more effective ways of coping with many of the overwhelming feelings that come up as we mature.”
If you notice a friend with symptoms or warning signs of an eating disorder, it is important to approach them openly and honestly about your concerns, according to an Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention Inc. spokeswoman. Don’t try to force anyone to change his or her behavior.
For more information about eating disorders or EDAW, contact the University Counseling Center at 346-3227 or the National Eating Disorders Association at (800)
931-2237.
Contact the reporter
at [email protected].